Waste not, want not - 15th October 2021

Soup kitchen volunteers in Peru are calling on food stores to pass on their leftover food, rather than discarding it.

Lima is now home to 2,300 soup kitchens, known as "common pots" and these centres are providing sustenance for 250,000 families, a figure which is climbing as the number in poverty has rocketed to 30 percent of the population.

Objectors gathered in the vicinity of Lima's central market, demanding the right to garner discarded produce that could be used by the community pots. Volunteer Javier Panauka Merma clarifies the position many locals now find themselves in.

Javier Panauka Merma: "Unfortunately, with these price increases, gas, petrol, electricity, people are really starving. Many neighbours have nothing to eat at the moment, the oil is too expensive. The soup kitchens can't cook anymore."

Whilst people starve, every 24 hours scarcely 5 percent of 50 tons of edible food is saved from the rubbish pile.

Nevertheless, the relevant authorities allege that food collection and distribution by the community pots could act as a magnet for huge crowds, a recipe for disaster in a pandemic.

However, protestors are pushing for a rendez-vous with the city's mayor, to urge him to sanction the recovery of usable food, a potential lifeline for desperate families.

Ericko Tueroconza: "Food recovery is what is not sold but cannot be thrown away. There are still products that are edible and that can be used in soup kitchens and that is why this recovery is favoured by soup kitchens to appease hunger."

It's hoped that the mayor will signal the go-ahead, as otherwise it seems likely that thousands of residents, including children, may become malnourished in the weeks and months ahead.