Delicious UK – (01)January 2021

It’smoreimportantthanever

tosupportlocalbusinesses,shop

smarttoprotecttheplanetand

investineconomieswebelievein

T

wenty twenty: that strange
and fretful year was a time
to hibernate, eat takeaway
while watching Tiger King and
put loftier ambitions on hold.
My resolution to go plastic-free
12 months ago was forgotten in
a whirl of lockdown anxiety and
takeout containers (#supportlocal).
When I could get a supermarket
delivery, it arrived smothered
in plastic. When coffee shops
reopened, I was so excited to drink
a flat white that I ignored the fact
it was in a disposable cup.
It’s undeniable that the national
lockdown last spring hurt the war
on plastic. Supermarkets suspended
bagless deliveries. Coffee chains
stopped accepting reusable cups.
Restaurants across the UK, fighting
for their survival, pivoted to
takeaways, with many using plastic
containers and cutlery. Takeaway
orders were up 33 per cent in March
and April compared to the same
period in 2019, according to JustEat.
A Government ban on plastic
straws and stirrers was delayed
from April until October 2020.
Worst of all, councils covering
nearly 400,000 UK households
sent recycling to landfill or burnt
it during lockdown, according to
an investigation by The Telegraph.
And let’s not even discuss all the
single-use masks abandoned on
Britain’s pavements.
So far, so bleak. Yet keeping
Covid-safe and helping the planet
can be compatible. Food shops
and hospitality are adapting –
after reverting to plastic bags and
disposables in March, many have
switched back to sustainable
options. In June, more than 100
scientists signed an open letter to
state that clean reusables were safe
during the pandemic. It is possible
to cut down on single-use plastic
without taking unnecessary risks.

HOPE IN SHOPPING SMALL
At the start of lockdown back in
March, with supermarket shelves

empty and delivery slots harder to

snag than normal-era Glastonbury

tickets, consumers began shopping

local. “An impressive 92 per cent

of our members reported a

‘significant’ rise in new customers

since lockdown rules began in

March,” says Jenny Rose, manager

of the Farm Retail Association.

“Farm shops were quick to adapt,

offering continually replenished

shelves and implementing creative

measures such as drive-thru

shopping to make customers

feel safe.” In addition to offering

the public another option for

tracking down gold-dust items

like loo roll and flour, shopping

local has provided other benefits:

an opportunity to support the

local economy, regionally grown

produce, and veg that isn’t

swaddled in cling film.

Oddbox, which delivers boxes

of wonky and surplus fruit and

veg to its customers’ doorsteps,

experienced a 10-fold surge in

demand in the week beginning

23 March 2020. Glass-bottle milk

deliveries are having a resurgence,

too: Milk & More welcomed 85,000

new customers between January

and August 2020. Of these,

33,000 signed up duringa

two-week period over March

and April.

We also threw away lessfrom

our fridges and cupboards.

“Levels of food waste are 38

per cent below pre-lockdown

levels,” says Dr Mark Roberts,

lead analyst for the Wasteand

Resources Action Programme

(WRAP). WRAP’s research

also found we became better

at checking dates, usingup

leftovers and cooking creatively

during lockdown.

FOCUSING MINDS

“This has been a time ofquiet

reflection and careful, considered

action,” says chef Thomasina

Miers, the founder of Wahaca.

“For my restaurants, it focused

our minds on sustainability.”

The chain reopened usingnew

free-range meat suppliers,with

lots of vegetarian dishesonthe

menu. The demand is there:

65 per cent of diners nowwant

to make sustainable choices

when eating out – this isup

from 47 per cent pre-lockdown,

according to an October 2020

survey by The Sustainable

Restaurant Association.

When dining out is notan

option, look for takeaways

in compostable packagingor

other clever solutions. Vegware

is the best known – the range

of commercially compostable

products includes takeout

containers and coffee cups,and

is currently used by independent

cafés, caterers, restaurantsand

the National Trust. SpiceBox,

a vegan curry house in London,

runs a tiffin club. Dishescome→

CANI TAKEMYREUSABLE

CUPTOTHECOFFEESHOP?

Yes,if it’sclean.“Morethan

100 expertshavereassured

usthat,if washedproperly,

reusablecontainerscanbe

safeforfood,drinksand

othergroceriesduringthe

pandemic,”saysNinaSchrank,

a campaigneratGreenpeace

UK.Checkwiththecoffeeshop:

manyindependents,Starbucks

andCostaacceptclean

reusables,butothercoffee

shopchainsmaynot.

ISITSAFETOUSE

A REFILLSTORE?

Zero-wasteshops

aretakinglotsof

stepstokeepyou

safe.TheZero

WasteCompany

operatesa clean

scoopsystem,

soeachcustomer

getsa fresh,

sanitisedscoop

ateachdispenser.

Somestores,

suchasTheClean

Kilo,provide

paperbagsas

analternative

toreusable

containers.If you

wouldpreferto

shoponline,look

intoa reusable

deliverybox.

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 51

food for thought.