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Be part of Bristol’s food sharing revolution
High profile campaigns like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s War on Waste have put supermarket food waste firmly in the spotlight. It’s not just a problem for the food industry, however. Household food waste is a major issue in the UK, accounting for half of all food wasted, and it’s the responsibility of us all to address it.
Did you know the average UK household throws out £700 worth of edible food every year? If food waste were a country it’d be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world. Many of us simply don’t consider the amount of food waste we are producing or the financial and environment costs associated with it.
Having grown up on a dairy farm, I found it both heart-breaking and frustrating to think that a third of my family’s hard work would just be thrown away. That’s why we created OLIO, to harness cutting edge technology and an engaged community to provide a really easy way to help turn food waste reduction into a habit, not a chore.
is needed now More than ever
OLIO is a free smartphone app that connects neighbours with each other and local independent shops so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could include food nearing its sell-by date from shops or cafes, spare vegetables from the allotment or unwanted groceries from household fridges. Users simply snap a picture of the items and add them to the app for a neighbour to collect, be it from home, the store, a drop box or another agreed location.
After a successful launch in London last summer that has seen more than 100,000 interactions on the app, we’re pleased to announce that OLIO has launched in Bristol. As 2015’s European Green Capital and the biggest UK tech hub outside of London, Bristol was the obvious choice for our second city launch. Our strong personal ties to the city, coupled with Spike Island business Simpleweb building our app and being its first investor, helped confirm Bristol as the logical next step for our expansion.
As a local to the area, I’ve had lots of people tell me that we should launch here and an overwhelmingly positive response when telling people about the app. We understand the many benefits that our technology can bring to a city that already lives and breathes the green way of living.
We’ve also received fantastic support from local figures such as Kerry McCarthy, shadow environment secretary and MP for Bristol East. With Kerry pushing through her Food Waste Bill in Parliament at present, she believes Bristol can benefit from an app that makes it easier for people and businesses to reduce the amount of food we waste.
Our mission is to help tackle food waste with the touch of a button – we’re thrilled with progress to date and are very excited about the positive impact OLIO can have in Bristol.
Tessa Cook is co-founder of OLIO and former MD of e-commerce at Dyson
To mark their Bristol launch, OLIO is hosting the Bristol Big Pot Luck on Saturday, February 6 from 1pm-4pm at Hamilton House. To attend, register via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-big-pot-luck-tickets-20517858467
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