According to studies, in the UK, 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted annually (WRAP. 2020).
4.7 million people live in food insecurity (FAO UN, 2016).
The stark amount of waste in comparison to food insecurity highlights the issues the United Kingdom is currently facing. Several homeless and vulnerable people go hungry because they do not have money to get their hands on food. However, some people are very passionate about alleviating the struggle of the vulnerable people, and two of them are Mila and Dhimant Shah.
It has been over a year that Mila and Dhimant have been volunteering with Go Dharmic (GD). Their constant dedication to help people in need has made them one of the key members of the GD London team. They help GD with collecting food waste from supermarkets and businesses and deliver them to our various distributors.
They gather food from supermarkets five times a week, as well as a bakery that has an average of 40 loaves of bread, to go waste every week. The food collected is perfectly good for consumption. Legally supermarkets are not allowed to sell food that is past its Sell-By date, however, food is still good to eat up to 2 days after that date (EatingWell, 2020).
Generally, in restaurants and food joints the food is thrown into the landfill. But, our GD volunteers get in touch with various eateries, making sure that no bite of food gets wasted.
Till date, GD has been able to collect 206 parcels that are equal to 6,457 kg of food (15,375 meal packets) distributed across London. Also, through these collections, GD has been able to save 20,573 kg of carbon footprints, making a positive impact on environmental issues and climate changes.
It was only possible with the constant support and hard work that the GD team has put in. The constant reminder to “Love All, Feed All, Serve All” is the secret that keeps us going. It is because of people like Mila and Dhimant that we are able to feed everyone even in the Coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown.
Cheers to you guys!
Email nikita@godharmicstag.wpenginepowered.com if you’d like to collect from a supermarket near you!
