One aspect of the Youth Hostel system that impressed me was the idea of free food. Most backpackers are on a budget and so it makes sense to cook your own food to save money. The trouble is you always have something left over and since you will be backpacking to the next destination there is no convenient way to carry with you perishable items or that opened bag of dried apricots.
To avoid all this unwanted food going to waste the hostels have shelves labelled ‘Free Food’ in fridges and in kitchens. Thus, I was able to make a very edible and free sandwich from a couple of eggs and a tomato that someone had left and in return I left some pasta and a tub of margarine.
8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK per annum. Wasting food costs the average family with children about £680 a year. So wouldn’t it be a good idea if we all adopted the Free Food approach?
The ideal place to leave waste food would be the entrance to any large supermarket. You could bring your unwanted, but still edible food in your shopping bag and leave it on a big shelf or in a fridge. Then help yourself to anything you wanted in return.
Of course, none of the big supermarkets would support such a scheme because it would eat into a fraction of a tiny percentage of the billions of profit they make by driving out every element of competition in the areas they operate. So, how about charity shops? Surely it’s wrong for two thirds of the world to starve while the other third chucks perfectly good food away? Oxfam would be the ideal starting point. They could even leave donation boxes for those who feel uneasy about something for nothing.
A good idea, but I’m sad to say it’s doomed to failure. For a start there’s food hygiene to consider. Would you trust half a jar of Bolognese sauce that may or may not have been in someone else’s fridge? Ninety nine percent of those willing to use such a scheme would do so responsibly. But what about the crackpot who thinks that lacing crunchy nut cornflakes with broken glass is funny?
Which reminds me of a time when I was a student training to be a teacher and one of the less popular members of our hall of residence offered me an egg mayo sandwich. Being slightly drunk and a greedy sod to boot I accepted the grub and gulped it down. It was delicious. I thanked the odd fellow and wondered if I might have misjudged him. Never again would I call him Paedo Pete to his face.
Years later, when I was more worldy wise, I reflected on this unusual act of altruism and a horrible realisation struck me. That smug, kiddie fiddling bastard wanked in the mayo.
To avoid all this unwanted food going to waste the hostels have shelves labelled ‘Free Food’ in fridges and in kitchens. Thus, I was able to make a very edible and free sandwich from a couple of eggs and a tomato that someone had left and in return I left some pasta and a tub of margarine.
8.3 million tonnes of food is thrown away by households in the UK per annum. Wasting food costs the average family with children about £680 a year. So wouldn’t it be a good idea if we all adopted the Free Food approach?
The ideal place to leave waste food would be the entrance to any large supermarket. You could bring your unwanted, but still edible food in your shopping bag and leave it on a big shelf or in a fridge. Then help yourself to anything you wanted in return.
Of course, none of the big supermarkets would support such a scheme because it would eat into a fraction of a tiny percentage of the billions of profit they make by driving out every element of competition in the areas they operate. So, how about charity shops? Surely it’s wrong for two thirds of the world to starve while the other third chucks perfectly good food away? Oxfam would be the ideal starting point. They could even leave donation boxes for those who feel uneasy about something for nothing.
A good idea, but I’m sad to say it’s doomed to failure. For a start there’s food hygiene to consider. Would you trust half a jar of Bolognese sauce that may or may not have been in someone else’s fridge? Ninety nine percent of those willing to use such a scheme would do so responsibly. But what about the crackpot who thinks that lacing crunchy nut cornflakes with broken glass is funny?
Which reminds me of a time when I was a student training to be a teacher and one of the less popular members of our hall of residence offered me an egg mayo sandwich. Being slightly drunk and a greedy sod to boot I accepted the grub and gulped it down. It was delicious. I thanked the odd fellow and wondered if I might have misjudged him. Never again would I call him Paedo Pete to his face.
Years later, when I was more worldy wise, I reflected on this unusual act of altruism and a horrible realisation struck me. That smug, kiddie fiddling bastard wanked in the mayo.
Live long and prosper.
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