Elmlea Pop-up café offers free zero waste lunches

Vegetable Curry With Packaging Square copyOpen for one-day-only on Wednesday 24th April, the eatery dubbed the ‘Taste, Not Waste’ café will be serving hundreds of free lunches using the top 20 foods most likely destined for landfill in line with Stop Food Waste Day.

Food waste is a global issue with a wide variety of environmental, social and economic impacts. New research has unveiled that nearly three quarters of UK households are regularly throwing out food each week, with 40 per cent of their food shop on average destined for the bin.

Regionally, it was revealed that those in London, Sheffield and Belfast are the worst offenders, however, the residents of Plymouth are setting an example on how we care for our food.

From the 1,500 adults polled, the study commissioned by Elmlea found that the top three ingredients most likely to be thrown out were lettuce, bread and bananas.

When questioned, 74 per cent of respondents said they are “left baffled” when it comes to knowing what to do with leftovers and ingredients approaching their use by date, even though a third of us are actively seeking inspiration online.

The zero-waste menu concept has been cooked up by Elmlea who are doing their part to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Londoners can turn up at 22 Foley St, Fitzrovia between 12-3pm for a free lunch starring Elmlea.

Gemma Williams, brand strategy and innovation manager at Elmlea comments on the findings,“The scale of the food waste problem is staggering, as a nation we need to unite in driving education, as well as make tangible changes to our culture around food that will help reduce these figures.

“With 90% of us throwing food away too soon, we hope the ‘Taste, Not Waste’ café will fuel inspiration and show attendees how you can make delicious recipes that will use up the food that’s about to go bad in your fridge or pantry.

“Thanks to Elmlea being a longer lasting cream alternative that stays fresher for longer, it is perfectly suited to making more of those sweet or savoury leftovers.”

Top 20 foods most likely to be wasted

  1. Lettuce
  2. Bread
  3. Cucumber
  4. Milk
  5. Bananas
  6. Tomatoes
  7. Yoghurt
  8. Eggs
  9. Potatoes
  10. Carrots
  11. Cream
  12. Strawberries
  13. Cooked rice
  14. Apples
  15. Cheese
  16. Peppers
  17. Cooked Pasta
  18. Onion
  19. Chicken
  20. Broccoli
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