Speakers Evening for Sustainable St Albans 2016

Soroptimist St Albans 21st November 2016 Speakers Evening for Sustainable St Albans 2016

Introduction from President Denise Powell to welcome members, speakers and guests. Amanda Brown welcomed everyone on behalf of the SEW (Sustainability, Environment and Wellbeing) team.

Guest speakers: Libby Brown – Foodcycle “FoodCycle runs volunteer-powered community projects across the UK – all working to reduce food poverty and social isolation by serving tasty, nutritious meals to vulnerable people. Since they started cooking in May 2009, their incredible volunteers have served over 125,000 meals made using over 146,000kg of surplus food – the equivalent saving of 657,000kg CO2 emissions. They take food ingredients which otherwise go to waste and cook meals in nearly 30 locations where there is a need all over the UK. As well as receiving funds from trusts and foundation, FoodCycle holds a variety of fundraising initiatives including the annual Breadline Challenge where participants are sponsored to live for a week on just £2.61 per day.”

Foodcycle is a National charity in the UK and they turn food waste into meals people who would have difficulty getting regular meals. Use triple donation model and get food from most of the big supermarkets and volunteers collect surplus food. They don't know what food they will get so volunteers have to think on their feet and create a 3 course meal from what has been donated. They also make use of volunteers and free kitchen space at community centre etc. People don't need to be referred by any other organisation and people don't need to provide any information about themselves or their circumstances. They do need to sign in and this is organised by a volunteer. Video shown. The food is past its best before date but not the use by date. These are two different things. Have 29 projects/locations and each has a Hub Leader. They will coordinate volunteers. Libby explained how people can sign up as a volunteer for FoodCycle.

Members come from various backgrounds: homeless, people with no cooking facilities and people who are unable to work due to illness or disabilities. The project helps people to get a healthy meal, reduce social isolation and learn about food preparation. Four million people in the UK struggle to put food on the table. More than 15 million tons of food is wasted a year. Foodcycle hope to have a positive impact on this. Foodcycle runs a campaign called the Breadline challenge starting today for one week where people are challenged to get all food and drinks for a day for £2.50. This helps raise awareness of food poverty.

Other things people can do : volunteer, fundraise, donate, spread the word and join the campaign.

Contact details: Volunteer: http://my.foodcycle.org.uk Fundraise: [email protected] Donate: www.foodcycle.org.uk Q Where do the funds come from? A Bids with fund raising trusts, e.g. Kenwood, supermarkets and through fundraising events. Q What stops Foodcycle doing food meals a week? A Limited by kitchen space available. Only 9 members of paid staff across the whole charity, everyone else is volunteers. Q Where else are there projects? A 29 projects/locations including Durham, Norwich, Clacton-on-sea, Birmingham, London, Peterborough, Manchester and Liverpool. Just work in England and not Scotland and Wales. This has been looked into in the past but would be too expensive at this time. Q How do you know how many are going to turn up for a meal? A Over time Hub Leaders get a feel for how many attend on average per meal. In Norwich they have about 80 per meal. Q What happens to waste/leftovers A Any left overs are given away to members. A lot of the cooked food can be turned into soup that can be taken away by visitors. Any left over food gets given away to those who attend. Q Do you partner with the chef, Jack Monroe. A No as they have to be careful in maintaining good relationships with organisations. Jack Monroe can be quite outspoken and this may affect these relationships. Q Do you know why Aldi don't donate? A No clear reason. Aldi may feel that food waste as an issue is not a priority of them or their customers. Q In France there has been a law introduced to reduce food waste. Do you think it could happen over here? A The new law in France is very bureaucratic and not without issues. Not sure if something in the UK of this kind would make a difference. Q How long has the charity been in existence? A Officially registered in 2010 and the charity has been running for 7 years. Many of the projects have been around for 5 years. Q Do you get enough volunteers? A Yes they are well supported by volunteers. Q How do they recruit people? A Have a Comms Manager and each hub has its own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. They get the guests from organisations Salvation Army, Age UK, hospitals, homelessness organisations, food banks, etc. Half of guests hear about the meals via word of mouth.

Guest speaker: Gouri Kubair - Holy Lama Spice Drop Company “Great Taste Award Winners - Gouri spoke about the history of her family business which combines the work of their social enterprise in Kerala, India with the sale of a range of products including easy-to-use spices, herbs, roots, fruits and flowers in a liquid form - the celebrity chef endorsed Spice Drops - with an opportunity to taste too. We learned about the ethos of the company which is founded on the principles of Fair Trade and sustainability. The story begins in the 1940s led by the pioneer in the essential oils industry and spans 3 generations of the family.” Holy Lama is a family business set up in the 1940s selling perfume and essential oils. The name Holy Lama came about following a visit to the current Dali Lama and a visit to see the scrolls and final resting place of the Lama.

Products are made in Bhutan, Kerala, in the Himalayas. 80% of workforce in oil production are women. This is through a government initiative called Kudumbashree which aims to uplift society through empowering women. Many of the women come from difficult and disadvantaged backgrounds. Women's enterprise based on fair trade principles. Less than 1% waste created. The factories aim to provide a happy workspace for the women. The company also makes natural body care products and spice drops. The soaps are handmade, vegan and have been created from natural products. The soap case is made from a palm husk. The business has grown through word of mouth. The only advertising they do is through social media. The coconut is used very effectively and produces very little waste. The oil is used in the skin care products, the palm leaves are used in packaging and the husks are also used in packaging. Any waste created goes as cattle feed.

The spice drops help to distribute to the flavours and aromas throughout food. The drops have all the flavour of spices but there is less packaging and takes up less space. They have a three year shelf life. There are no artificial flavourings or preservatives. They are cold pressed and maintain the goodness of the spices, such as turmeric. Spice drops have had lots of excellent testimonials from people such as Nigella Lawson. The products are quick and easy to use which fits in well with changes to eating behaviour and peoples shortages of time. The spices have won lots of awards including great taste awards.

30 employees in factory and mostly women (80%) from all different religions. Everyone is treated as equals. The packaging is recyclable. The oils have to be stored in glass bottles. No animal testing in any of the products, only tested on people. The company gives out 0% loans to any of the staff. They also assist with tuition costs for families of staff. Use social media for marketing and attends shows and trade events. Spices can be used for cooking, cocktails, yoghurt, teas and oils.

Q Do you have recipes telling how to use the oils? A Added over 100 recipes to the website (www.holylama.co.uk). Q Where can you buy the oils? A Amazon, Ocado and the Amnesty catalogue as well as the website. Q How long has the business been in the UK? A 3 years Q How much are the oils? A Each bottle cost £4.00 plus there are also selection boxes which is £15 or £35. The more expensive selection box also comes with a spice rack.

Amanda Brown thanked the guests. Denise closed meeting and shared the fact that the issue of sustainability is a focus area of work for Soroptimist International linking with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which all Soroptimists are striving for.

Katherine Clark, 19/11/16