A new project aimed at tackling food waste is about to get up and running in Dunmanway.
BY BRIAN MOORE
A NEW project aimed at tackling food waste is about to get up and running in Dunmanway.
The Dunmanway Family Resource Centre (DFRC) will be the centre of the campaign to help reduce the huge quantities of perfectly edible food, which is collected across West Cork every week and then dumped.
‘It’s simple really,’ Family Support Worker, Aileen Coakley told The Southern Star. ‘We are taking our inspiration from FoodCloud, the organisation that collects food waste from local supermarkets and shops, and then redistributes this food to charities.’
However, unlike FoodCloud, the DFRC will make the food available to anyone who wants it in the West Cork area.
‘What we are doing is sticking with the food waste initiative concept by making the food available to everyone who registers with us,’ Aileen continued. Through much discussion with my colleagues, we decided that there is no more practical way to support families than by making food available to those that want it. Which is where the FoodCloud initiative came from.’
The topic of food waste has recently been highlighted by celebrity chef and world traveller Anthony Bourdain in his latest documentary, ‘WASTED!’
‘It is estimated that 30% of the food we buy ends up in the bin, costing the average Irish household anywhere between €700 and €1,000 per year. The EPA’s Stop Food Waste programme was initiated in June 2009 and is designed to empower consumers to reduce food waste by rethinking how they shop, store, cook and re-use food,’ a spokesperson for Stop Food Waste Ireland said. ‘Overall, over 300,000 tonnes of food is going to waste each year in our homes, 60% of which is avoidable waste.’
In Dunmanway, the local Aldi supermarket has already signed up to help with the DFRC’s food waste project.
‘We are delighted with the response so far and we would love if other stores in the area signed up as well,’ Aileen said. ‘We want to see, not only a reduction in the amount of food wasted in our community, but also that families who want the food can avail of it.’
For more details, or to sign up to the Dunmanway Food Waste Initiative, in collaboration with the not-for-profit organisation FoodCloud and Aldi, call the Dunmanway Family Resource Centre on 023 8856818 or 083 8514132.
‘Remember you can collect free food that would otherwise be going to waste,’ Aileen said.
