Skipchen is a restaurant in Bristol that sources its ingredients from supermarket skips as well as using foraged supplies and donated items, according to The Guardian.
At the end of the day the restaurant gives away any leftover food. After the restaurant closes, volunteers take to the streets looking for foodstuffs to use the next day. Food from supermarket skips contributes to the majority of the restaurant’s menu.
“We get the food from anywhere and everywhere that has food going to waste… People here are struggling to feed themselves nutritiously. The real crime is the supermarkets throwing that edible food in the bin. That’s what we need to change.”
– Sam Joseph, co-director of the Real Junk Food Project, which has launched Skipchen in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol, to The Guardian
Waste not, want not
The issue of food waste is attracting attention across the globe. And this is not without basis: The UN has found that approximately a third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the amount of food they waste: According to Mintel’s Food Packaging Trends – UK, 2014 report, 19% of people say that they’re concerned about the amount of food they waste in their household.
A number of forward-thinking brands and businesses have noted this trend and have created specific products and services that put their eco-consciousness to the forefront of their message: A café in LA is now selling its coffee in a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone in a bid to reduce wastage, while Sainsbury’s now powers one of its locations entirely through food waste.
Skipchen is part of this movement. It will reuse food that would have otherwise been wasted, while also placing a greater emphasis on foraging for wild food. Other foodservice outlets looking to up their green credentials would do well to follow suit. Those that highlight their commitment to eco practices and encourage customers to do the same in creative and playful ways will meet with greater success than using guilt or shame as a tactic.
