Surplus veg rescue
Working closely with farmers, growers,chefs and communitiesTogether Waging a War on Waste
A scary amount of perfectly decent fruit and vegetables get wasted every year.
Around 7% of what’s grown in the UK never makes it to a plate - that’s more than £1 billion worth of goodness going to waste.
Most of this is down to a mis-match between the precise quantities that the market demands and the variable amounts nature is able to supply depending on weather and growing conditions. To counterbalance this, farmers have to grow way more than they’ll actually need. About 3 million tonnes more, as it happens.
Even when the chosen produce gets to kitchens, shelves, and on our plates - food waste unfortunately continues in surplus food prepared, left overs…
Over 8 million people in the UK struggle to afford to eat. That’s shocking in its own right, but even more damning when so much healthy, tasty food fails to make it anywhere near a kitchen.
Around 7% of what’s grown in the UK never makes it to a plate - that’s more than £1 billion worth of goodness going to waste.
TACKLING THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE
This squandering of nature’s bounty was driving us loopy. So Waste Knot came about as a way to tackle the root of the issue - getting surplus veg out of farmers’ fields and into chefs’ kitchens.
Around half of our rescued fruit and veg ends up with commercial caterers and restaurants. The other half goes to charities that are working to alleviate food poverty.
The Waste Knot Way
We work alongside the traditional way of doing things, but give growers a new market for their surplus and chefs the challenge and reward of making great food from seasonal ingredients.
We work with single lines and mixed boxes, the same as everyone else. Most of what we rescue is made up of the familiar staples, but we also love finding a use for the parts of the plant that are usually discarded and discovering new and unusual crops (cauliflower leaves and collard hearts anyone?)
We’re lucky to know several farmers who get a similar kick out of trying something new, and we try to share their discoveries to spread the word about innovations in growing and harvesting.
All the farms we work with are either Red Tractor or LEAF accredited (or both)
- so we know their food is grown responsibly and sustainably.“Working with Jess and Waste Knot has been an amazing opportunity to make a meaningful difference in our purchasing as a business. The importance of using all that is grown – and showing our support as an industry is imperative. More than ever we should be making sure that we support our producers and show all ingredients the respect they deserve.”
— Sabrina Gidda, Chef, Hospitality Consultant and Author
NEWS
