Meet Farrah: Making a Difference in Food Waste Through Charity Work

UK adults estimate that almost a third of what they buy ends up in the bin despite three in four making attempts to get more use out of the products. The study of 2,000 adults commissioned by Waitrose found one in seven forget to check use-by dates, while nearly one in 10 are guilty of buying more than they need in the first place.

Goodies is a charity that for a long time has seen the magnitude of food waste first hand. Receiving what shops would usually bin to give to those in need highlights just how much food would be wasted. Farrah Maryam is the CEO of Goodies and tells how even the charity is struggling to give the food away before it goes bad. “I am so annoyed when I see how much food supermarkets take in just to have on display when they know that they will not be able to sell it all.”

Maryam is clear on how one time a year is especially bad for wasting food. “Christmas is without a doubt the absolute worst”, she says. “We receive countless turkeys and other holiday goods that people do not want to buy after the holidays that would go straight in the bin”. She is heartbroken over seeing the extreme points of the situation.

“Some have way more than they need while others struggles to have one decent meal a day”, she says. Maryam thinks that one important solution is to implement ways to reduce food waste in schools, teaching the importance from a young age.