The student club called Sustainable Palacký is trying to reduce food waste by their campaign Free Food UPOL. By means of a Facebook page of the same name, students and employees of the university can share unwanted food that would otherwise end up in a dumpster or compost.
According to the UN, the European Union alone produces 88 million tonnes of food waste every year. This means that e.g. 45% of fruits and vegetables produced are never consumed. We wanted to draw the attention to food waste and so we created the Facebook page Free Food UPOL. On this page, members of that group can offer any food which they would have otherwise thrown away,” said Martin Kovařík from the Sustainable Palacký club.
The Facebook page Free Food UPOL has ca 1200 members and the number is still growing. During recent months, various kinds of food were available, including canned tuna and octopus, candies, beans, cookies, bread and soup. There were even canapés available on New Year’s Day. “We have lots of them left over from yesterday. Would somebody like to come and help us with that?” said one of the users who posted a picture of the tasty snacks online.
“I can honestly say that this project appears to be our most effective in terms of the effort we have put into it and the results. We just created the website, established the rules, promoted it and that was it. Anyone is welcome to join us,” added Kovařík.
Sustainable Palacký was founded in 2016 upon the initiative of students of the Department of Development and Environmental studies. They’ve already founded the Václavka community garden next to the dormitories, a Freeshop, the project Fill ’er UP, the The World on a Plate festival and participated in the event Let’s Clean Up Czechia. In addition, the club also organises documentary screenings, panel discussions and excursions. You can find more information here.