In September we reported on the UK’s first food waste supermarket in Leeds.
The warehouse supermarket, as part of The Real Junk Food Project, operates with food donated by major supermarket chains.
It goes without saying that we were really impressed with this, and so we decided to catch up with the project’s founder, Adam Smith, to get to know the ideas behind the supermarket.
Check the interview out below:
We really love what the Real Junk Food Project is doing. What has the reaction been like from the local community in Pudsey?
It has been received very well by the local and city wide public.
We are engaging with over 100 people per day, and really benefiting the community and the local environment.
You get food donated from a range of supermarkets, do you find that there is one particular food type that you see more commonly?
Bread!
The UK wastes over seven million tonnes of food every single year, what do you think is the most common cause of this wastage within supermarkets and households?
Expiration dates, over production, greed, accidental damage, negligence, the list is endless.
Your supermarket offers payment in the form of skills and a helping hand, which we think is great, how often do people choose to work instead of paying in currency?
We have no idea, as we leave the payment up to the customer.
We have increased our volunteer output from 2-3 to over 50.
We hear that the TRJFP is opening more supermarkets in Bradford and Sheffield. Congratulations! How do you think affluent areas would respond to food waste supermarkets? Do you think the response would be as positive?
We don’t strategically open venues, we allow the public to decide where there is a need.
We do not target poor or wealthy areas, we follow where there is food being wasted.
