© scoopnest.com
Brilio.net/en - In an attempt to reduce food waste, the first supermarket specialized in expired food and goods opened its door last week in Copenhagen, Denmark.
This challenging project was born thanks to the Danish non-profit organisation The Food Bank (Fdevarebanken), that distributes surplus foods to homeless shelters, and a Christian charity DanChurchAid, dedicated to fighting against poverty and hunger. Widely spread by social networks, the news of the opening became a huge event in Denmark. On Monday, February 22d, WeFood was officially inaugurated by Princess Mary herself and the Minister of Environment and Alimentation, Eva Kjer Hansen.
In this innovative supermarket, you can find any kind of food, cosmetics and household items that other stores rejected, either because theyneared their expiration dates, had been wrongly labelled or had damaged packaging. All those items are nonetheless still legal to sell and safe to consume!
WeFood is the first supermarket of its kind in Denmark not just aimed at low-income shoppers but anyone who is concerned about the amount of food waste produced in this country, said Per Pjerre from DanChurchAid. The lower prices are indeed a great commercial argument for WeFood, the supermarkets price being 30% to 50% lower than the competitors.
When it comes to green initiatives, Denmark is currently a leader in innovative solutions. The country places environmental issues at the core of its development and supports innovative projects such as WeFood. Over the last five years, Denmark managed to reduce food waste by 25%. For reference, the country produces seven hundred thousand tons of food waste per year, which seems huge but not so much if you compare it with Jakarta only, which reached over two million tons of food waste every year
However, European countries seem more and more willing to follow Denmarks example since similar initiatives are growing lately. Marks & Spencer, the famous British retailer, pledged to donate their food that is about to perish to people in need, aiming to reduce the companys food waste by 20% in the next four years. In France, it is now mandatory by law. It has indeed recently been voted, supermarkets are obligated to give away unsold products that have reached their sell-by-dates. (Read also: France to impose laws on food waste) Hopefully just a few examples and much more to come!
(brl/tis)
