Rather than going to waste, leftover hospitality food from the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, in Liverpool, has been donated to local Liverpool communities, for free.

Liverpool Zero Waste Community have worked alongside hospitality company Sodexo Live!, picked up a container load including fruit and veg, herbs and bread that’s now been given out free to families, schools, children’s groups and care homes across Liverpool and Wirral. 

Kathryn Bowman, from Liverpool Zero Waste Community, had the following to say:

“Sodexo Live! at the Arena first got in touch with us about three or four weeks ago because they have lots of surplus after events which they didn’t want to be wasted. Our group isn’t a foodbank or a food pantry, it’s all about saving surplus food, and because we now have such a big team of volunteers – more than 200 – we can clear a place and redistribute it very quickly so it’s win-win.

They called us on Friday and said they expected to have all this food left over from Eurovision, but at that point they had no idea what it would be or what the volumes were, only to expect a call on Monday. We had a team waiting and when they phoned they asked if we could clear it in an hour so then it was go, go, go! About eight cars and a van went to load it all from a container that was full and then we sorted it all out and it went off to lots of different locations.

We made up about 45 bags that were collected from All Souls in L19 on Monday night, more have been distributed today in Northwood Together in Kirkby and St Athanasius Church in Kirkdale, some went to Employability Solutions Garston, a play group in Allerton, Wavertree children’s centre, and the Beavers at St Mary’s Church in Grassendale picked up fruit for their meeting tonight so it’s gone everywhere – nothing has gone to waste.

There was lots of fruit and veg, so things like broccoli, cauliflowers, leeks, apples, grapes, pea shoots and other salad stuff, boxes of figs, fresh herbs and some fancy things we’d never even heard of – we were telling people they might have to Google those! Liverpool Zero Waste Community’s partnering with Sodexo Live! has also seen them dropping off sandwiches to staff at the Royal and Alder Hey hospitals, and to patients waiting to be seen in A&E. 

There have already been benefits for the city, and there’ll hopefully be a lot more in the future, but this is an immediate impact for people, especially when food prices are going up and up.”

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Author: Richard Taylor

Source: The Guide Liverpool