Free Vegetables & Food

So much food gets wasted everyday. In the some developed countries, around 8.3 million tons of food gets chucked out.

Recently we came across a website in Japan that puts food that would otherwise go to waste, to good use! Tada Yasai (Japanese for free vegetables) is a website that brings together registered users with surplus vegetables from local farmers in the Saitama and Gunma prefectures of Japan.

These are vegetables that would otherwise not be used simply because they do not fit the aesthetic standards of supermarkets, not because of any difference in quality.



Quantities of vegetables are limited and obviously depend on what the farmers have to offer. Registered users only have to pay postage for their freebies. While the public benefit from free veg, the farmers who grow it have the opportunity to set up a profile on the website and sell their regular produce too. In Green Thing's eyes this is a perfect example of how a website can be used to bring together those who need something with those who have something to offer. While the budget ranges found in all major supermarkets give suppliers the chance to sell produce that otherwise might not be fit for retail, we would like to see more websites like this so that the huge third of food that goes to waste in the UK can be reduced.

Ps- We also found about Foodcycle, a UK based social enterprise that takes food waste and turns it into delicious meals for people in need. Another great all-consuming idea.

(Spotted on Springwise)