Sharing food is a good idea in these lean times. There are ideas like batch cooking (where each person cooks a bulk meal, then everyone shares frozen portions, giving different meals each week for each person in the circle). There are also apps and even fridges that share leftover food at discount prices, still making profits for small shops that would otherwise have to throw away uneaten food at the end of the working day. Here are a few good ideas around:
Be aware of allergies and choking hazards (children etc) and know some foods (like grapefruit and dark green leafy veggies) are not safe for certain medications (so check before sharing). Also don’t share food that is out-of-date for safety (leftover rice can be a food poisoning hazard).
You can obviously just make meals in bulk, then share them among yourselves. One great idea of late are food-sharing apps like Too Good to Go and Olio. These are when people have food leftover in the fridge (if they are going on holiday, into hospital etc) or cafes and shops have leftover food at the end of the day, that would otherwise be thrown away). You just load up the food on the app, and people can come and collect it for free.
A Fridge to Sell (almost out-of-date) Food
Karma Fridge is a vending machine for shops and cafes, where people can buy sandwiches and cakes (at discount) at day’s end. People get good food for less money, and small businesses eek out more profits, rather than have to throw stuff in the bin.
The Food Sharing Revolution looks at how traditional food producers and sellers are changing ways. Michael Carolan tells stories of farmers who share share tractors, seeds, kitchen space and cultures. Meet Dorothy (who opened a bakery with a no-interest, crowd-sourced loan). And chef Camilla (peer-to-peer meal sharing).
This is a book about pop-ups, farmers’ markets and new ways of farming, buying and eating. People don’t ‘own’ animals in this world, they buck the corporate food systems and find new ways to grow, farm and eat food. From sharing tractors and seeds to sharing kitchen space and cultures, this is full of inspiration for anyone who wants an alternative to monocrops and processed foods.
Food (just like taxis or hotels) can be co-opted by money interests. But with genuine collaboration, the sharing economy can offer both eaters and producers freedom and a more sustainable and ethical way to eat.
Author Michael Carolan was born, raised and educated in a little town of 350 in Iowa, USA. After living there for 30 years, he is now Professor of Sociology and Research Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University.
