The aftermath… of The Scrap Lunch Workshop, 4th of May 2013

And so the day came and went of the Scrap Lunch Workshop…

What a fantastic turnout! With a filled up hall of long tables, white tablecloths and – later – scraped clean serving plates… 

After weeks of planning, coordinating food sources and conspiring with our guest speakers, long late hours in the kitchen for our kitchen responsible (Cathy), interview with the newspaper Ergo, administrative work and a lot of bustle on Facebook, the 4^th of May finally came along. 

At nine o’clock the nine members of the Scrap Lunch Project Group gathered to prepare their main event at Kalmar Nation. This day we all dug in to make it happen, excited and prepared for a day full of meaning and purpose!

 

At noon guests started arriving. While people mingled to the background videos about food waste, they found their seats in the Big Hall of Kalmar Nation. The sun shined outside the window. Back-stage, the kitchens were busy with a dozen people organizing to serve the food that had been prepared for days, and the food contributed by the kitchen manager Peter Ward from Uppsala Konsert och Kongress (UKK).  Downstairs Karin Torvenius and Ulrik Strandberg – two thirds of the bloggers from Glimten I Grytan – stood baking desserts for later in the program. Group members found themselves chopping fruit and running errands between the kitchens. 

The food was very successful, not only because of the long hours of work from Cathy, but because of the great effort put in by our guest chefs from Glimten i Grytan and UKK. Everything was made from scraps, and all the guests seemed to really enjoy the food.

After the Project Group’s own introduction, Peter Ward was first up on stage, speaking of his and UKK’s view of food waste, what they do to decrease it and what the best leftovers would be in his opinion. Comparing to only fifty years back, Peter definitely thinks we have gotten worse at taking care of all the food.

After that Isabel Baudish from Uppsala Nation Owl told us about how her organization tries to make the student Nations in Uppsala greener and more sustainable. Through participation in the event, Kalmar Nation also earned points from Nation Owl as a more sustainable Nation. 

Just before serving dessert , Karin and Ulrik (who secretly had his birthday this day) entertained everyone with the story of how they started their blog and the way they were inspired to challenge themselves in cooking when the fridge seemed empty, in their home as well as in others'.

And last - but definitely not least - Christopher Wegweiser from CEMUS animatedly told us about several projects including permaculture, soil, seasons, dumpster diving and foraging. He encourages getting your hands dirty to grow your own food together with other people.

These were the main attractions during the event. Also we send great thanks to all the guests who contributed with good inquiries, energetic participation in the games and a good appetite!

Finally, the Scrap Lunch Project is very grateful to all other contributions. Everyone who participated in the event showed that food waste is a problem, but a problem with MANY solutions! 

Read more about the event here.

Contributions:

Kalmar Nation:   For scrap food, printing, marketing and the location of the Lunch!
Nelins:                       Food, including boxloads of fruit used in the desserts!
Coop Forum Boländerna:            Food 
ICA Torghandel:                         Food
Djurens Rätt:                               Food
CEMUS:                                     Printing and participation
Glimten I Grytan:                        Participation
Uppsala Nation Owl:              Participation and points for Kalmar Nation
Uppsala Konsert och Kongress:  Food and participating
Affärsnätverket Las Vegas:         Marketing

Written by Sara Dahlgren