Free food project in Tottenham makes a stir redistributing 'landfill food'

Experts claim that eliminating the millions of tonnes of food thrown away annually in the US and UK could lift more than a billion people out of hunger worldwide.

Tristram Stuart, author of a new book on food waste and a contributor to a special food waste issue of the Food Ethics Council's magazine, said: "There are nearly a billion malnourished people in the world, but all of them could be lifted out of hunger with less than a quarter of the food wasted in Europe and North America. In a globalised food system, where we are all buying food in the same international market place, that means we're taking food out of the mouths of the poor."

So it was with great interest that I discovered that Tottenham-based organisation Best Before is taking the Food ethics world by storm and helping to find a solution to the problem.

Best Before collects food and produce that has exceeded its Best Before date from retailers and wholesalers and re-distributes it locally to those who are in need. Simple really, but no one's really organised it before.

Best Before has been recently set up by Voytek Stando. Originally from Poland, Voytek has been working in food distribution for the past five years. "I've been able to observe at close quarters the nonsense that is going on with food waste", Voytek told me, "So I decided to do something about it."

At the moment BB is only offering its food to organisations, but in the future he's looking at ways to broaden its scope to include individuals as well.

Currently an informal group Best Before should soon be registered as an official charity. The next step for Voytek will be to set up another branch in SW London and he then hopes to work nationwide. But from Tottenham to the world. "We've had such a fantastic response. In the future, he told me, "I think this idea can be applied on global basis".

In addition to redistributing food, Voytek also want his charity to educate the public about the true meaning of the best before date.

I've told Voytek that we're local and would love to keep up-to-date with his progress. So I'll come back and update you all as and when.

Or you can stay in touch yourself, via Facebook or the Best Before Website.