This weekend in Bristo Square Edible Edinburgh will offer free meals made from ingredients which would otherwise be thrown out.
Top Edinburgh chefs are preparing to cook up a storm of free, delicious meals for 5,000 people at the first Scottish venue of a global anti-food waste movement.
The Feeding the 5,000 event has been organised by Edible Edinburgh in a bid to highlight the fact that Scots throw out around 556,000 tonnes of food each year.
Chefs from Café St Honore, Edinburgh Larder, Iglu, The Gardener’s Cottage, Blackfriar’s, Union of Genius and Hugh Grierson Organic will serve up tasty hot meals – free of charge and using fresh food which would otherwise go to waste – to as many members of the public as possible in Bristo Square on Saturday 5 October 2013, from noon onwards.
Similar events have already taken place in cities such as London, Manchester, Bristol with future events planned for New York and Lisbon.
As the council is one of the principal sponsors of the event, Councillor Lesley Hinds was on hand to help the chefs with a bit of stirring!
L to R Eleanor Cunningham Edinburgh Larder, Neil Forbes from Cafe St Honore, Councillor Lesley Hinds, Sascha Grierson from Hugh Grierson Organics andCharlie Cornelius from Iglu.
All of the food will be supplied by local allotments, Stirfresh, Kettle Produce and Skea Organics, while financial support is being provided by Zero Waste Scotland. Volunteers will prepare, serve and clean up, while a Food Information Fair with activities and stalls will take place at the same time in the Potterow Dome.
Visitors on the day will also get the chance to comment on a consultation to develop a Sustainable Food City Strategy for Edinburgh. This is being managed by Edible Edinburgh, which was formed to explore how healthy, sustainable and locally sourced food can be available for everyone.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Environment Convener at the City of Edinburgh Council and a member of Edible Edinburgh, said:- “I am really excited that Feeding the 5,000 will be taking place in Edinburgh, the first time that such an innovative event has been held in Scotland. We have a great team of skilled chefs who have given up their time to promote the message that we should aim to eat more sustainably.
“Edible Edinburgh’s vision is that the Capital will become a place where good food is available and accessible for all, making for healthy people, thriving communities and a sustainable environment.
“It supports the Council’s on-going work to encourage the recycling of food waste and reducing landfill, which will lead to a cleaner and greener city.”
Principal Sponsors: City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Sustainable Development Partnership, Edinburgh University Students Association, Stirfresh, TheUniversity of Edinburgh, Vegware and Zero Waste Scotland. Coordinated by Nourish Scotland.
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