Guest Blog By Real Junk Food Project

Feeding wedding guests can be a tricky business - everyone has different tastes and ideas of what the ideal wedding feast should be, not to mention all those individual dietary requirements. Finding the perfect caterer can be a real challenge and often makes a huge dent in the wedding budget. But what about the environmental cost of a wedding? What happens to the food your guests don’t eat?

Is there a more ethical and environmentally friendly way of feeding everyone whilst keeping a diverse group of diners happy?

The Real Junk Food Project caters entirely out of intercepted surplus food, to feed bellies not bins. We interviewed Emma from Real Junk Food Project, who broke the taboo on using surplus food for your wedding day - watch it HERE. 

Watch: Sustainable Food Wedding Catering with The Real Junk Food Project | Emporella YouTube Channel

In today's post, Emma shares with us five good reasons why you should choose Real Junk Food Project to cater your wedding.

''There really are no limits, so you can get creative''

It’s creative and unique

So much about wedding catering can feel restrictive. You really want Menu A, but why can’t you have the dessert from Menu C? And no gluten-free entree? The Real Junk Food Project has no fixed menus as it’s impossible to know what will be intercepted in advance. This doesn’t mean to say there is no choice - everything is bespoke and tailored to a couple's wishes.

Want a picnic in the middle of a wood? Traditional canapes and formal sit down full serviced dinner? Afternoon tea? Vegan sharing boards? They take pride in working closely with a couple to create their perfect experience, and there really are no limits so you can get creative. There’s absolutely no reason why your wedding food can’t be as unique as your wedding.

It’s kind to the planet

Did you know that globally one-third of all food produced is wasted? That’s approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of perfectly edible food going to landfill. When food rots it produces carbon dioxide and methane, in fact, surplus food is responsible for more than 6% of global greenhouse gases (that’s three times more than aviation). By feeding your wedding guests with surplus food, you are literally helping to save the planet. Then perhaps you can jet off on that long haul honeymoon guilt-free!

It’s friendly to all budgets

The Real Junk Food Project’s main aim in catering for weddings is to get the word out there about surplus food. So many wedding guests are shocked when they realise the delicious meal they are eating was destined to be thrown away! It’s a great platform for them to raise awareness about the global environmental surplus food problem. As the goal is not profit-orientated, they can cater to any budget, big or small.

''You feed people so they can feed more people... it's a win-win''

It’s great for local communities

The real Junk Food Project not only caters for events. They also provide food to primary schools, run social ‘Pay as you feel’ supermarkets, support other charitable organisations and provide volunteer and job opportunities in the local community. They aim to inspire and empower people using food, to be kind to themselves and one another. The money earnt from wedding catering goes straight back into the project, helping them intercept more surplus food. You feed people so they can feed more people… it's a win-win.

It tastes great

When you think of surplus food, you may imagine mouldy bread and squishy bananas. But food is surplus for so many different reasons- overproduction, problems with supply and demand, changes to packaging and best before dates that really shouldn’t be there. The Real Junk Food Project catering team have access to some great ingredients, and more importantly, they know how to use them! The team of chefs have been catering to surplus food for years and are used to being creative in the kitchen. To you and I, it may look like a box of wobbly carrots- to them, it’s a canape of confit carrots topped with carrot hummus!

So if you’re planning your wedding why not consider having one created from surplus food. It’s ethical, environmentally friendly, and a great talking point. And when you think about it, wedding catering really shouldn’t cost the Earth.

Feeding bellies, not bins. You can find out more about the Real Junk Food Project HERE.

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