UK based Earth & Wheat is celebrating three years of their initiative to reduce food waste from bakeries. Founder James Eid saw the need to reduce waste as he watched baked goods from his parents’ bakery forced to be discarded by the kilo each day.

Supermarkets, bakeries and other food production businesses will often be forced to dispose of food if it is not the right size, shape or colour. These ‘oddities’ are often thrown out creating tonnes of food waste each day.

James set a goal to rescue 1,000 tonnes of food by the end of the year having already saved 600 tonnes since the business’s conception. He says it has been a busy three years, but he isn’t done yet.

“It is incredible to think that our efforts—thanks to the support of our wonderful wonky warrior customers—have resulted in us collectively being able to stop 600 tonnes of good food from going to waste,” he said speaking to British Baker.

“This is food that would have been thrown away even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with it and it still tastes delicious. It was just too big, too small or too odd looking.”

For his efforts, James has secured a coveted Baking Industry Award for Sustainability Initiative of the Year 2022. The company redistributes the food—which encompasses baked goods as well as fruit and vegetables—via the direct-to-customer website. People living in the UK can order as a one off or on a rolling subscription basis helping to maximise efforts to reduce food waste.

James has long-term ambitions to develop lasting relationships with other bakery firms and suppliers to continue to enact change in food waste across the UK.