The James Cook University Hospital has joined the fight to reduce food waste by setting up an eco shop.
What is an eco shop?
The pop-up shop in the hospital’s Volunteers Coffee Lounge is taking high quality, good to eat surplus food and making it available to staff for a small donation.
The food, which would have gone to supermarkets but has become surplus – this could be because it was over-ordered or misprinted on the packaging – is supplied by FareShare who redistribute it so it doesn’t go to landfill.
The new shop, which is open Tuesdays and Fridays between 11am and 2pm, was set up in partnership with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Middlesbrough Environment City, FareShare NE and the Middlesbrough Food Partnership.
Trust staff using the shop can pick up a bargain while doing their part in helping the environment, selecting 10 tins, jars or packets for just £2.
Steve Bell, the trust’s environmental and sustainability lead, said: “In order to advance our green agenda this initiative plays a vital role in supporting our staff through the provision of a service which benefits both the environment and our workforce.”
Coffee Lounge manager Georgina Oakley said: “We are really pleased to have our very own Eco Shop here at James Cook. I have always hated wasting food when it is still perfectly safe to eat, so I jumped at the chance of playing a part in reducing food wastage, helping the environment, and offering the staff a chance to save money in the current climate.”
As a member of the greener group, and as a volunteer food waste hero for Olio in my own time, I’m really proud that James Cook has joined the fight in reducing food wastage."
Laura Hallett from the trust’s greener group