Every day restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets and other stakeholders throw away the food and other goods which are considered past their "sell-by" date and therefore, not good for the next day of sales. At the same time, imagine how many 'people in need' there are, who could benefit from what retail industries consider "waste"? Even without looking at any statistical data, it's obvious that this problem is huge, and that it is becoming bigger every single day. But actually, there are also a lot of good things that are happening regarding this matter. As more and more people become increasingly aware of this problem, they get inspired to change and start organising initiatives in order to fight the issue of food waste and to create balance between mass production, human desire, and human need.
Last year I have become part of an initiative for the reduction of food waste. I would like to share with you how we did it!
Right after the bushfires in Australia in 2019/20, I attended a group meeting for people who feel anxious about issues related to global warming and climate change, and the role which human beings are playing in these disasters. Whilst sharing our concerns with each other, it turned out that there are a lot of people who feel disturbed by the issue of food waste, as well as mass consumption in general, which also related to the main topic of our meeting on that day. We decided to connect the dots and make the bridge between those who are in need and those who are throwing away their goods. We created a list of the people we know, such as large families, refugees, people with limited abilities, elderly people, and others who might accordingly benefit from our offer. We contacted places that we thought would potentially be interested in supporting our idea (local bakeries, markets and small shops), and no surprise, they were more than happy to help. I, for example, contacted a bakery which is right next to my house. Within five minutes of talking on the phone, they had agreed that they would be happy to join our cause.
Later on we created a list of volunteers, people who would pick up the food packages ready for delivery, and bring them to people in need, once a week. since then, we have been doing this every Wednesday, trying to make the world a little bit better, by means more sustainable and more balanced.
Sometimes such matters as global warming, climate change or other issues of our century seem to sound so massive and unstoppable that it seems like there is no way for you, as a single individual, to influence them and make a change. However, it turns out that real actions are take in small steps such as: giving your attention to something positive today, being more conscious while making choices, calling your grandma without postponing, or delivering a package of goods to someone in need instead of watching another episode of a series.
Without further talk I hope this article has inspired you to do something good today! And even if not, I am happy to share this adventure of mine and leave it here as a little reminder 😊
The goods we pick up and deliver on Wednesdays:
P.S. Did you know that there are Facebook groups and even apps where you can put the description or photo of a product, or meal that you have and are not planning to finish, and someone might actually want it?
#YogawithOli#YogaTravelThoughts#myyogajourney#foodwaste#universalhelp#doingitright
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