A restaurant serving dishes made from food about be thrown away by
supermarkets and other companies opened its doors in Copenhagen on
Tuesday.
"We had all worked in kitchens or supermarkets and seen how much
food was thrown away, and we wanted to do something about it," said
Sophie Sales, a co-founder of "Rub og Stub", which translates as
"lock, stock, and barrel".
Denmark is already home to an active community of "freegans",
people who eat discarded edible food to reduce waste.
But unlike activists, Rub og Stub won't go rummaging through trash
to find its ingredients, and the restaurant doesn't accept food
that's been found through so-called "dumpster diving".
Instead, they're trying to get to the food before grocery stores
and other retailers throw it out.
"We had hoped to secure some permanent deals before the opening,
but it was hard because this is such a new concept," said
Sales.
The central Copenhagen restaurant, which is run by volunteers and
will give all profits to three charities in Sierra Leone, had to
buy some ingredients for the launch.
"Potential suppliers (donors) found it hard to believe that it's
realistic and that we would really open," she said.
So far, major donations have come from two supermarket chains owned
by Denmark's biggest grocery retailer, Coop Danmark.
"It's been everything from lamb chops and duck breast, to big bags
of grapes and dairy products," Sales said.
Most products are given away because they're nearing their expiry
date.
For supermarkets, the food "wouldn't be worth putting on the
shelves since they could only keep it there for two or three
days".
"If we get it on the last day before it expires, we can either put
it in the freezer or use it on the same day," she said.
Rub og Stub doesn't accept food that's already been prepared
elsewhere, and because of its sourcing methods, the menu changes
every day.
On Tuesday, it was serving meat patties known as "frikadeller",
with red cabbage.
The menu also included a vegetarian version of the traditional
Danish dish, a pasta salad, and apple muffins with marzipan and
nougat ice cream.
