Earlier this year I decided to do something about food poverty. The scale of the problem is staggering and hard to ignore:
- Last year alone, the number of people who rely on food banks in the UK tripled – The Trussell Trust (2013)
- The number of malnutrition-related hospital admissions has increased by 74% since 2009 – Just Fair (2014)
FareShare UK (2014) point out the ridiculous imbalance of food poverty and food waste:
- 5.8 million people in the UK live in ‘deep poverty’, making it hard for them to afford every day essentials, including food.
- At the same time, 3.9 million tonnes of food is wasted every year by the food and drink industry. 10% of this is surplus and fit for consumption, enough food for 800 million meals.
Surely something can be done to address this madness?
That in mind, I’ve set up Bounceback Food: a social enterprise that aims to end food poverty in the UK and provide everyone with the opportunity to learn how to cook. We’re starting off by selling a range of staple food on a ‘one for you, one for society’ basis at market stalls in Manchester. Every time you buy a product, another one will be donated to your nearest food bank or community project.
Over the next 12 months I’ll be developing the organisation with support from the School for Social Entrepreneurs and writing this blog to chart my progress.
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Twitter: @BouncebackFood : Online: www.bouncebackfood.co.uk : Facebook: Bounceback Food
A Few Good Challenges 