As Food Waste Action Week drew to a close, SOS Guernsey Food Angel outlined its ambition to get restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels to stop throwing out food that is about to go out of date, or has been cooked but not eaten, and instead sell it at a low price through an app.
The idea was the brainchild of Hans Canagareddy, who initially tried to set up a local branch of Too Good to Go, an international scheme that offers a similar service.
‘But they wouldn’t come to Guernsey,’ he said.
‘It’s too small for them, so I decided to set up my own.’
Unlike the national service, the local one is being operated as a not-for-profit organisation.
He sees the service as complementary to the food banks offered by Shiloh Church and the Guernsey Welfare Service, but it was for people who were reluctant to go to either site.
Any financial surplus made by the group will be split between the two food banks.
Mr Canagareddy has lived in Guernsey for about eight years after moving to the island from Mauritius. His background is in finance and he has worked with more than 15 local charities.
As well as helping islanders, he said Food Angel would also benefit the hospitality industry, which has to pay to dispose of its food waste, unlike the public, and the new scheme would provide them with a way to avoid so much waste.
People with the app will be able to browse the surplus food and buy specially-packaged bags of food at a discounted rate.
They are then able to collect it for themselves, or donate it to someone in need either directly, or through a charity or community centre.
Mr Canagareddy said he appreciated that not everyone who might benefit from the service would have a smartphone, so he plans to find a way to make it available via a phone call or text message.
SOS Food Angel is being launched formally at an afternoon tea at The Duke Hotel on Wednesday this week.
To find out more and to download the app, go to sosfoodangel.com or email info@sosfoodangel.com. The app will also be available on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
