4.7 million people in the UK are living in food insecurity. This is where someone does not have consistent access to a sufficient quantity of affordable healthy food, often meaning they skip meals or go hungry. Record high inflation, rising food prices, soaring energy bills and increasing fuel costs are all forcing people to choose between basic living necessities and stopping them from purchasing the food they need for themselves and their families.
Yet 9.5 million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year, 70% of which was intended to be consumed by people. The biggest reasons for wasting food are often that the food was not used in time, personal preference such as taste or quality, or that too much was made. Plus, an estimated 20% - 40% of fruits and vegetables is rejected by supermarkets, mostly because of aesthetic reasons.
Every day in the UK, we throw away approximately 20 million whole slices of bread (equivalent to 1 million loaves), 4.4 million whole potatoes, 2.7 million whole carrots and 800,000 whole apples and that's just to name a few…
What Ohh Deer is doing to help:
Ohh Deer are beyond honoured to have teamed up with UKHarvest, an incredible charity who works to feed those who need it most by rescuing and re-distributing surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.
We’ve worked closely with UKHarvest to design some wonderful Christmas Card Packs in which a percentage of each sale will go directly to this fantastic charity! Each card, of course, is created by talented designers in the typical Ohh Deer style.
So far, UKHarvest has delivered 8 million meals to charities and individuals, educated 56,000 participants, supported 350 charities and have rescued a whopping 2250 tonnes of surplus food to date as well as saved 5720 tonnes of CO2e!
This wonderful charity is on a mission to Nourish Our Nation! They aim to protect the environment and overcome food poverty by fighting food waste, creating opportunities and teaching low-cost cooking. Each person connected to UKHarvest believes that good food should not go to waste, and that we must each play a role in helping vulnerable people in our communities.
They work to achieve their huge, life changing goal of eliminating hunger and reducing food waste by firstly collecting surplus food from all types of food businesses and producers - these include supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and manufacturers. They then distribute this food to charities such as homeless shelters and through their network of Community Food Hubs, offering families and individuals access to this rescued fresh fruit and vegetables alongside surplus dry and frozen goods.The process is simple really but the effects their work has is utterly life-changing for some!
A branch of this lovely charity is the Nourish Hub, a community kitchen that opened in Autumn 2021, situated in the heart of London’s Shepherd's Bush. It aims to promote social inclusion and tackle food insecurity and waste.
Nourish Hub is a place in which communities can come together, eat well and learn essential skills for life. From the sociable nature of sharing food, to the formal training opportunities delivered in the kitchen through their NourishEd education programme - Nourish Hub and UKHarvest really prove to be an all round magnificent charity and incredibly beneficial for thousands of people!
Check out this video to get a better look into the brilliant work done at Nourish Hub.