FoodSave scheme will help London's small businesses cut food waste

The Mayor of London launches FoodSave, a new scheme to help food businesses reduce food waste and divert surplus food to useful purposes

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimate that around 15 million tonnes of food and drink are thrown away every year, of which four million is from catering, restaurants and manufacturing. Food waste makes up 41 per cent of all waste generated by the UK hospitality sector.

To help address this, Sustain and the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the delivery partners for the new FoodSave project, will work with over 240 small and medium-sized London food businesses to help them cut their food waste and save money. FoodSave will help London's food businesses to:

• Identify where most food is wasted
• Receive advice on how to reduce food waste
• Send surplus food to people in need through organisations that redistribute food
• Direct unavoidable food waste to feed animals such as pigs and chickens (where legally permitted)
• Where food waste can’t be avoided, support composting and renewable energy generation

Matthew Pencharz, the Mayor’s Senior Adviser on Environment said: “’FoodSave is a brilliant initiative that can help businesses reduce their food waste disposal costs and become more efficient. I encourage as many businesses as possible to get involved and both save money and help the environment.”

FoodSave will directly support 240 London food businesses, and by March 2015 aims to achieve overall savings of £360,000 and prevent more than 1,000 tonnes of food waste being sent to landfill. The Sustainable Restaurant Association will work with restaurants, hotels, pubs, quick-service restaurants and canteens. Sustain will work with businesses involved in food retail, food manufacturing and preparation, food growing, farming, catering facilities, street food, market stalls and wholesale markets.

If you run a food business and would like to find out more, visit: www.foodsave.org. Twitter: @FoodSaveLondon

FoodSave is part of the Mayor’s wide ranging support for London’s food economy which aims to help make it healthier, more sustainable and more profitable. FoodSave is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) and the Mayor of London, and is co-ordinated by the Greater London Authority (GLA). The project is also supported by the London Food Board.​

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1. FoodSave services for SMEs will be provided by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) and Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, supported with expert advice from the charity Feedback, which runs the Feeding the 5,000, Gleaning Network and Pig Idea campaigns. The SRA will work with restaurants, hotels, pubs, canteens and quick service restaurants whit Sustain will work with business involved with  food retail, food manufacturing and preparation, catering facilities and street food traders, and market stall holders, wholesale markets and food growers, and farmers
2. The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB), chaired by Richard Tracey, Assembly Member, working in conjunction with the Mayor of London and London Councils, has a remit to improve waste management in the capital. See: www.lwarb.gov.uk
3. The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) is a national, not-for-profit membership organisation providing restaurants with expert sustainability advice through a team of specialist account managers. The SRA helps member restaurants buy food more sustainably, manage resources more efficiently and work more closely with their communities. Members enjoy the economic benefits of greater sustainability and the SRA promotes their activities to consumers. To get in touch about taking part in FoodSave, email foodsave@thesra.org or call 020 7479 4224. See: www.thesra.org/foodsave/
4. Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity. Sustain is a registered charity and represents around 100 national public interest organisations working at international, national, regional and local level. The organisation runs a number of projects and campaigns working towards a more sustainable food system, including Capital Growth (the food-growing network for London), London Food Link (a network for Londoners interested in local and sustainable food), and the Real Bread Campaign. To get in touch about taking part in FoodSave, contact Charlotte Jarman on charlotte@sustainweb.org or 0203 5596 777. See: www.sustainweb.org/foodwaste.
5. Source of waste figures: 15 million tonne figure from Love Food Hate Waste (WRAP).
6. Media enquiries to the Greater London Authority: Rachelle Laurence on 020 7983 4599 / 07771 814 478. For out-of-hours GLA media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000.