An Ipswich community interest company which intercepts thousands of kilos of waste food and helps feed people in the community each year has unveiled a tie-up with another major retailer.
The Teapot Project, which was originally launched three years ago to intercept edible food that would otherwise go to landfill and run a pay-what-you-feel cafe, picks up food that cannot be sold but is still edible.
It then distributes to partner organisations such as the YMCA and Salvation Army to feed those in need.
Last year the project intercepted 10,600kg of food – the equivalent of 43.3 tonnes of CO2.
Now, it has unveiled a major new partnership with cash and carry store Makro, which means it will intercept around 50kg a week from that store alone.
“It’s massively satisfying when you see how far that food will go,” said Kat Gosling, Teapot Project co-founder.
“They are a huge company and a massive branch, but they have made it very, very simple.”
The team makes collections twice a week, with around 25kg taken each visit, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables among the food alongside bulk items, bread, and some other useful goods such as plastic cups.
The deal is the latest in a string of tie-ups the cause has, with Morrisons and Nandos among the other big names to intercept food waste from.
With the Makro collections being trialled as a pilot scheme over the summer, the Teapot Project was also able to lay on food every day throughout the summer holidays at Gainsborough Library for children who would normally receive free school meals, with up to 30 youngsters along each day.
Teapot co-founder Mischa Pearson added: “For the kids at the library we could come in with fresh fruit, and some had never had a mango before – it was a variation in their diet.”
Excess food from the library sessions was also distributed to older people in the community, while any waste intercepted from the Teapot’s partners that cannot be given to people being given to feed animals on local farms.
Having got rid of its office, and begun carrying out deliveries on bicycles, the Teapot Project is well on its way to becoming a zero carbon company. It is now aiming to buy an electric van which means it will have a zero carbon footprint.
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