I have the pleasure of being friends with one of the volunteers, who kindly gave me more information about this project, and from digging even further into it, I can really see the positive effects it has on the community as a whole. Based in Armley, Leeds, “The Real Junk Food Project” recently opened its doors to the public, serving up a variety of food, all sourced from supermarket waste.
Adam had struggled for a long time to try and get to grips with the sheer amount of waste from huge chain stores and food banks that were just throwing away usable food. It is currently the law in the UK that supermarkets have to throw away food before the use by date, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it is no longer edible. The best before date, not the use by date, is what we, as customers, need to take into account; therefore throwing away food that is still safe to eat is surely a massive waste, right?
With this in mind, Adam, a fully trained chef, decided that enough is enough. Just over ten months ago he decided to open up his very own cafe, that served up a range of food, including casseroles, stews, cakes, sandwiches and more, all made with ‘in date’ ingredients that would’ve been otherwise thrown away. The sheer creativity and innovativity of this action makes this a restaurant to remember, but that isn’t all. The Real Junk Food Project is a not for profit organisation that has actually adopted a ‘pay what you feel’ approach. There are no set prices in the cafe, and customers are encouraged to pay what they feel the food deserves, baring in mind the charitable nature of the project, meaning some can pay a large sum, and some that have nothing can be fed.
The open pricing and food selection encourages a huge variety of visitors to the newly established project, further driving more interaction between people who may otherwise simply walked past one another on the street. The cafe has seen a huge success over the past year, and has actually been recorded to have fed around 10,000 people on 20 tonnes of unwanted food, which has accumulated £30,000 of charitable cash.
Some may believe that their methods of ingredient sourcing is somewhat unorthodox, especially given the fact that Adam has being quoted stating he has previously dug through supermarket bins. However, each of the ingredients used is always fully packaged and nothing is ever used unless it is quality approved. Adam actually stated that just a while back he found caviar in a supermarket bin store, that didn’t run out of date until December 2015! That in my eyes is criminal, especially with the sheer amount of homeless people going without food in the UK – figures actually suggest that 4 million people in the UK are at risk of going hungry.
The success of the Real Junk Food Project in Armley has had a huge amount of support. Chains such as Nandos and some supermarkets are actually looking into supplying the cafe with regular ingredients! There has also been a huge amount of support from other cities, as over 40 other “pay as you feel” restaurants have opened up within the past few months!
I think it is fair to say that Adam is onto a winner with this project, and could even change the face of the food industry for the better. If you are ever in the Armley area and are looking for a great way to enjoy good food, while also giving back to the community, head down to the Real Junk Food Project!