Hubbub Allocates £60,000 in Funding to Support Six Pioneers Tackling Food Waste

Image Credit: Sow The City

Environmental charity Hubbub has launched the second round of its Eat It Up Fund, inviting innovators with imaginative solutions for combating food waste to submit their applications. This initiative will allocate £60,000 to support six projects that focus on innovative ways to diminish pre-farmgate waste, cut down on waste in manufacturing and processing, reduce retail food waste, and repurpose surplus food within communities or households.

The announcement aligns with the recent findings from the waste charity WRAP, which highlight that globally, up to 30 percent of all food produced is either lost or wasted, accounting for 8 to 10 percent of global artificial greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, WRAP's data indicates that in the UK alone, 10.7 million tonnes of food are wasted annually across households, food service companies, manufacturers, retailers, and farms.

The Eat It Up Fund is seeking applications from projects at various stages of development, from those ready to be scaled up to initiatives in the preliminary planning phases needing a pilot test.

The fund is eligible for a wide range of UK registered organizations, including charities, social enterprises, Community Interest Companies, educational institutions such as schools, universities, and colleges, local authorities, and micro or small businesses with a distinct social mission.

"Last year, we saw a great appetite for the Eat It Up Fund from some very inspiring projects," said Mark Breen, senior creative partner at Hubbub. "This year, we're hungry to go even further to address edible food waste.

"The Eat It Up Fund is a fantastic opportunity for innovators with new concepts that are ready to test or existing ideas looking to expand, to fast track to the next stage in their development."

The 2024 edition of Hubbub's Eat It Up Fund follows its successful inaugural campaign, which provided grants to innovative projects like Sow The City and chef Tom Hunt's Forgotten Feast. Sow The City has partnered with Starbucks to utilize spent coffee grounds for growing oyster mushrooms, alongside conducting community workshops. The Manchester-based social enterprise plans to expand its reach by distributing these mushrooms through Hubbub's Community Fridge Network using solar-powered electric vans.

Chef Tom Hunt, on the other hand, has leveraged surplus buttermilk to create a unique line of ice creams. He has established partnerships to source ingredients and distribute his products. His venture into sustainable desserts will debut at Brockley Market on May 18th, featuring buttermilk, vanilla, honey ice cream, and macaron ice cream sandwiches. Additionally, Hunt is set to offer a lemon curd made from leftover egg yolks from the macaron production, highlighting his commitment to zero-waste culinary innovations.

"The Eat It Up Fund has given me the confidence and funding to turn a dream into reality," he said. Three months in, I've developed an amazing product, invested in brand design and packaging, and partnered with farmers, processors, and retailers to help them reduce food waste. One lick at a time, our ice cream will save edible food waste."