On Saturday September 3rd, Eat Club joined forces with the organisation MakeSense for a day of workshops to engage with issues around our food system. MakeSense helps social enterprises who are trying to deal with a variety of issues to develop their business and solve their most pressing problems. The day focused on three very different social enterprises working to solve issues of food waste, food poverty and food skills.
To feed the many participants, MakeSense had secured food surplus donated by Fareshare. Having agreed to be in charge of the food, we wanted to do more than just discuss food waste. With a group of able volunteers, we looked at the food that was donated and attempted to put together a menu of dishes that would be both delicious and wholesome. Following some discussion we had opted for a vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie and a variety of salads. Luckily for us there was enough fresh produce to create a good, balanced meal. However, the fresh produce was only a rather small part of the food donation and the rest was processed, sugary, salty stuff that I don’t think is the best thing to give people in need of food donations.
The lunch was a great success and even the weather held up for most of the day. Our ‘holdUp’ at the end of the day was an opportunity for us to discuss our most pressing problems with the participants and let them come up with some actions and solutions. We will think over some of the suggestions and maybe try them out!
