Issue - meetings

Ms Suzi Holding, Best Before Café  and Ms Emma Goulding, Hitchin Food Rescue thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Panel.

The Chairman thanked Ms Holding and Ms Goulding for their presentation.

Audio recording – 43 minutes 49 seconds

Ms Suzi Holding, Best Before Café and Ms Emma Goulding, Hitchin Food Rescue thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Panel as follows:

·                Best Before Café had saved more than 20 tonnes of food from supermarkets;

·                They were fighting food waste and food poverty;

·                Supermarket waste was only 2 percent of total food waste;

·                78 percent of food waste was residential;

·                Food waste was harmful as rotting food turned into methane;

·                They were working with other charities and people to view best before food as edible by using it in a different way;

·                They would like to see the Best Before model in every town, village and city;

·                Their aim was to use food waste and educate people to use it;

·                People needed to stop buying pristine food and start to use best before food.

The following Members asked questions and commented on the presentation:

·                Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg;

·                Councillor Steve Jarvis;

·                Councillor Gerald Morris;

·                Councillor Michael Muir;

·                Councillor Claire Strong;

·                Councillor Val Bryant.

In response to questions Ms Goulding advised that:

·                Best Before Cafe and Hitchin Food Rescue had 250 people a week use their services;

·                They were happy to be used to help conduct surveys;

·                Schools did not undertake a lot of food waste separation.

Members comments included:

·                There was a need to consider what education programmes NHDC could promote and/or deliver;

·                On the continent people were penalised for not recycling.

The Chairman thanked Ms Holding and Ms Goulding for their presentation.