‘I can’t bear seeing good food go to waste’
Laura Gaga is a civil servant from London who has transformed her diet (and her finances) with her decision to avoid throwing away usable food.
Ten years ago, I noticed a colleague bringing in lunch covered in yellow stickers. He said he shopped in the reduced aisle at the supermarket. At the time, I was buying expensive packaged sandwiches for lunch and, living alone, I’d spend £50 on my weekly shop. That evening, I had a good look around my usual supermarket and found some amazing bargains. Some were at their sell-by date, others end-of-line clearances or with damaged packaging.
From then on, I’d pop in after work and head straight to the reduced section. If there was a lone half-price butternut squash for sale, I’d buy it and worry about what to do with it when I got home. I’d never eaten a radish but when there was a bag for 10p, I bought them and loved them.
I’d take my bargains home, search online for recipes using the ingredients I’d found and start cooking, freezing anything I couldn’t eat. I was soon cooking creatively, saving loads of money and feeling healthier because I wasn’t relying on processed food.
I started reading up about food waste and was shocked to learn that a third of the food produced globally is simply thrown in the bin. In the UK, we waste 9.5m tonnes of food every year – an astonishing amount. Wasting food means we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, transport and package it. Food in landfill sites rots and produces the greenhouse gas methane, which is one of the biggest contributors to climate change.
I resolved to try harder and came across the OLIO food waste app, which connects people with others who have surplus food. If you have items you can’t use, you take a picture of them and upload them on to the app – if someone nearby wants them they can request them and pick them up.
The first time I used it, I got lentils, beans and vegetables from a woman who was moving house. I was delighted! Soon, I was using the app and others like it every day, and my weekly shop went from £50 to around £10. For my 40th birthday last year, I found an unwanted bottle of Champagne on the app and I served it at a party with friends. What a result!
I’ve also volunteered as a Food Hero for the app. You collect food at the end of the day from supermarkets and food outlets that would otherwise go to waste. There’s always huge demand for the food.
Because I was only buying reduced food, I was eating less meat as that always disappeared quickly from the shelves. I went vegetarian, then three years ago, vegan. I loved the challenge of creating interesting plant-based recipes. Environmental issues were a concern, too; being vegan reduces your carbon footprint.
Some weeks I don’t buy any food at all because I get all my food from the apps. I always manage to have three meals a day, plus snacks. I’ve worked out that I’ve saved £20,000 in the past decade. I’m also fitter and healthier; I run and do yoga.
Food is the one thing that connects us all and the amount of waste is appalling. I hope more people will be inspired to be mindful about the food we throw away. • Find Laura on Instagram @Reduction_raider1 and listen to her podcast, Alright Raiders, on Spotify
My weekly shop went from £50 to around £10