12:22

Dec 26, 2016

Fruta Feia - Giving farmers a fair price for their wonky veg

In this episode I'm speaking to a couple of people from Fruta Feia a co-operative with hubs around Portugal, that buys food from farmers that has been rejected by the retailers they supply, and would otherwise have gone to waste - selling this seasonal and locally sourced produce on to its members. I was fortunate enough to spend the day with Fruta Feia, as they collected food from various suppliers from towns and villages nearby Lisbon, and then took it to a community centre to create the fruit and veg boxes for their members. The recording took place as the produce collected that day was being unloaded from the van, during which I spoke to Miguel who works for the co-op and explains a little about how Fruta Feia functions, and then to a volunteer who explains how and why she got involved with the organisation - her opinions are of course her own, and don’t necessarily reflect those of Fruta Feia. It's a brief introduction to what is a fantastic organisation, doing great work in reducing food waste, supporting local farmers, and providing people access to healthy, nutritious and fresh food at very affordable price.

40:45

Nov 11, 2016

ReFood - Hyperlocal food rescue and redistribution

In this episode I'm speaking to Hunter Halder, founder of the ReFood movement in Portugal. Hunter is originally from the US, but has lived in Lisbon for many years. In the 5 years that ReFood has existed, it has gone from 1 volunteer to 4,000, and serving 2,500 people 46,000 meals in a month. The organisation is entirely volunteer run, and focuses on addressing the issues of food waste and food poverty at a neighbourhood level. I have to say in the 3 years I've been documenting the issue of food waste, this has to be the most impressive, and effective initiative I have come across - it's a real inspiration, and I hope that the concept is replicated the world over! The interview took place on the street, at a café in Lisbon, so there's quite a bit of background noise, but it was the only option available to us, and I hope it’s not too distracting! If you are working on a food waste initiative, or know someone who is, please get in touch – it would be great to have you on the podcast – you can email me at [email protected] For more information on the great work ReFood is doing, visit the ReFood website.

17:58

Nov 11, 2016

ChicP - Hummus from surplus vegetables

This first episode of the podcast - which was recorded just before Christmas, hence the references to Brussel sprouts and the festive season - introduces the work of Hannah McCollum who founded ChicP - a company that gathers food that would otherwise go to waste from local markets, and produces very tasty sweet and savoury hummus.