Hubbub announces new £200,000 fund to encourage creative solutions to tackling food waste
Environment charity Hubbub is on the hunt for new creative solutions to food and waste, which could be boosted by its new Eat It Up fund, launching on the 20th of June, with applications open until 21st July.
According to WRAP, 6.4 million tonnes of edible food is wasted each year in the UK by retailers, manufacturers, caterers, restaurants and in people’s homes. A staggering 3.6 million tonnes of food is also wasted before it even leaves the farm gate.
The Eat It Up fund is looking for ideas that:
address pre-farmgate waste (the food production process, up to the point where the products have been harvested and prepared as produce for sale)
prevent food from being wasted at manufacturing and processing stage
minimise food waste from retailers
find ways to use surplus food in creative ways in communities or at home
Small businesses, social enterprises, charities, local authorities and universities can apply for a grant of £40,000 to support ideas that are ready to test, or concepts that have been tested and are ready to progress further.
Ellen Rutherford, Head of Food at Hubbub said: “The Eat It Up Fund has been created to stimulate innovation in tackling food waste, which is a big contributor to climate change. So many resources go into growing, processing, packing, storing and transporting food. There are lots of interesting and inventive ideas out there and this new fund will help organisations to test new concepts and get their ideas off the ground.”
Applications for the Eat It Up fund are open until 21st July. Those wanting to apply can visit - www.eatitupfund.org.uk for more information.
In addition to the new Eat It Up fund, Hubbub is expanding its Food Connect initiative. Now entering its fourth year, Food Connect is a food redistribution service that uses zero-emission vehicles to tackle the ‘final mile’ challenge by delivering good quality surplus food for community groups to share.
