Loretto Junior School pupils preparing for their Real Junk Food Cafe event

Real Junk Food for Loretto Junior School

Loretto organises a feast that they hope will be just the start of an exciting new Real Junk Food venture

Posted by Stephanie Broad | July 11, 2015 | Catering & hospitality

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• #real-junk-food
• #scotlands-year-of-food-drink
• #independent-schools
• #food-waste

Loretto School recently handed over duties to year six pupils to helped them plan and deliver a feast fit for royalty. The pupils hosted a number of diners including parents, supporters, keen followers and members of the public.

'The Future of Food' is the June theme for Scotland's Year of Food & Drink.

The pupils - one of whom came up with the idea herself - worked alongside volunteers from The Real Junk Food Project to serve the food on the night. Beforehand, pupils were working to build awareness not only of waste, but all the aspects of food central to The Real Junk Food Project - provenance, preparation, nutrition and, most importantly, community.

The aim of the project is to raise awareness of the issue of food waste, help people to eat and cook better and instigate change towards a more sustainable, efficient and just food system.

The school intercepts food that will otherwise go to waste and serve it in creative ways in our pop up cafes across the city. Currently, they are working mainly with small local businesses to source food but will soon collaborate with larger retailers and producers in order to better address the scale of the problem, create more links in the system and feed more people.

The cafes operate a Pay As You Feel (PAYF) policy, enabling the food poor and those with means to pay for their food to eat together, developing a sense of community and awareness of local food insecurity. The staff are volunteers and will have training opportunities, as well as cooking workshops for a more general purpose with a focus on avoiding waste and eating responsibly.

The school is developing strong relationships and a network of support from local businesses and community projects. Their primary supporter is the Union of Genius, whose cafe on Forrest Road provides a fortnightly Sunday lunchtime pop-up venue.

Towards the summer of 2015, Loretto will start running weekday pop-ups in different venues with the aim of attracting and building different communities.

www.loretto.com