Bishop helps feed the 5,000 in Trafalgar Square

The Bishop of London will be joining thousands of people in London’s Trafalgar’s Square for a special event to show how much of the food thrown away in the UK can be used to make delicious meals.

Five thousand people will be treated to a free lunch cooked from wonky carrots, misshapen potatoes and other food rejected by supermarkets.

‘Feeding the 5,000’ is the idea of Tristram Stuart, author of ‘Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal’.

It has been organised jointly with FareShare, Love Food Hate Waste, Friends of the Earth, Food Cycle and other organisations.

“Feeding the 5000 is a wonderful partnership including farmers, charities and the public,” said Stuart.

“The aim of our lunchtime feast is to highlight how food waste can be avoided by putting food to good use i.e. feeding people.”

Businesses and the public are being asked to sign the Feeding the 5000 pledge asking governments, retailers and food businesses to reduce food waste.

Chefs Thomasina Miers, Arthur Potts Dawson, Valentine Warner and Thomas Hunt will be offering live cooking demos and serving up a variety of dishes, including vegetable curry.

Members of the public can take part in the ‘surplus apple’ pressing and drink the free juice, while the remnants of the apples will be used to feed brought into the square for the occasion - highlighting how much of the food thrown away can also be used to feed animals.

In addition to the Bishop of London, the event will be joined by London Mayor Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food.

Friends of the Earth’s Senior Food Campaigner, Clare Oxborrow, said: “It’s crazy that millions of tonnes of food that could feed farm animals ends up in landfill, when farmers waste cash on imported feed that harms communities and forests overseas.

“The Government must act to make it easier for farmers to switch to feeding animals leftovers, such as by setting guidelines for councils to link up food retailers and farmers."