Illustrator Rosa Kusabbi has created a unique print for World Environment Day
You don’t have to be Greta Thunberg to know that food waste is eating up the planet. The facts are that each year, a third of the food produced in the world goes to waste, and it’s responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
I was so shocked to find out how much food wastage impacts our climate
In 2016, a group of entrepreneurs witnessed restaurant staff throwing away fresh food. The food’s only problem? It hadn’t sold in time, and no one was around to take it off the restaurant’s hands. The group pioneered a solution - an app that lists businesses’ unsold food so local people can find, buy and enjoy it.
Bargain boxes
Too Good To Go has a simple mission: to make sure all food gets eaten, not wasted. Now, thousands of ‘Magic Bags’ are rescued from businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, and bakeries every day. Users of the app can search in their local area and pick up meals at a reduced price. Businesses reach new customers and recover sunk costs, and the planet has less wasted food to deal with - it’s a win-win-win.
The idea of using technology to connect people and empower them to reduce food waste was sown in Denmark, and it was rapidly adopted by several entrepreneurial minds around Europe.
The app is gaining momentum in the UK and users in Liverpool can now log on and find Magic Bags from a range of businesses. At the moment, it’s mostly the big chains like Greggs, Spar, Morrisons, Barburrito and YO! Sushi, but independent restaurants when we last looked included Organico Bold Street, Caribou Poutine and Smoke & Dough.
Got my grocery's from @TRJFProject today, so going to see what I can make. The @TooGoodToGo_UK app is brilliant, ranging from Morrisons, to local stores and bakeries. Check it out 🙂🙂🙂 #community #Wellbeing pic.twitter.com/x2HHcwskyW
— alexindonny (@alexintheskies) May 28, 2021
World Environment Day
It's not just businesses with a waste problem though - 70% of all food waste happens at home in the UK. To try and change that, Too Good To Go has joined forces with 14 up and coming artists from across Europe for this year’s World Environment Day on 5 June.
Trailblazing Liverpool based illustrator, Rosa Kusabbi, is one of those artists and has created an exclusive print for the project. Known for her bold designs, Rosa’s passion for using art to connect and inspire her audiences, as well as a commitment to social issues such as climate change, made her an obvious choice.
Art and activism
“I was so shocked to find out how much food wastage impacts our climate and that’s why I really wanted to work on this project and make people aware,” Rosa said.
“Art for me is a way of processing what’s going on in the world and hopefully this can help others do the same.”
The other artists include Danish creative duo, Supermercat; SEEYOUSIOE from Amsterdam; and rising French illustrator Lorraine Sorlet. All of the designs will be printed on Crush paper, made from 15% agro-industrial by-products instead of tree cellulose. This includes residues of citrus fruits, grapes, cherries, lavender, corn, olives, coffee, hazelnuts and almonds.
Climate change
Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go, said “Reducing food waste is considered the number one solution to climate change and yet, a third of food goes to waste globally. In Europe, the majority of this waste is happening right at home.
“That’s why for World Environment Day we wanted to use the power of art to inspire everyone to make that extra effort at home to reduce food waste.
“The artists we’ve worked with are all incredibly talented and have used their creative skills to spread an amazing message: that together, saving food every day, we can keep making a real difference to the future of our planet.”
Priced at £11 each, the prints are available to buy from the Too Good To Go website, with all profits donated to the UN World Food Programme.
Find out more at Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or download Too Good To Go from the app store.
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