Food waste continues to present a significant challenge in the UK, where 10.7 million tonnes of edible food are wasted annually. To address this, Hubbub’s Eat It Up Fund is championing seven creative projects that aim to revolutionise how we view and manage food waste. With grants of up to £60,000 each, the winners will develop solutions over the next year to tackle waste in homes, schools, prisons, and beyond.

Food Waste Solutions

Mark Breen, Senior Creative Partner at Hubbub, highlighted the originality and impact of this year’s projects saying “Food waste is a sticky problem that needs fresh ideas to address it. This year’s entries for the Eat It Up Fund have been nothing short of extraordinary. From using tech to detect food waste in fridges to transforming surplus into preserves. The creativity and ambition behind these projects is inspiring. We’re excited to support these initiatives as they develop solutions that not only tackle waste but spark a movement of change for communities and industries alike.”

Exploring This Year’s 7 Winners

Newcastle University’s “Waste Not!” initiative is using cutting-edge technology to create an Internet of Things platform, empowering households to track food freshness and share surplus food within their communities, reducing waste at its source.

Chefs in Schools is bringing sustainability to school kitchens through comprehensive training. By educating kitchen staff to make nutritious, waste-conscious meals, they address the staggering 96,000 tonnes of food waste produced annually by schools in England.

Big Ideas Company is setting a global precedent by reducing food waste in prisons. Their collaboration with inmates and staff will develop an adaptable toolkit to create sustainable practices across prison kitchens.

The People’s Pantry in Glasgow is uniting diverse communities to transform surplus food into preserves and ready meals. Traditional preservation methods from Eastern European and South Asian cultures form the backbone of this grassroots initiative.

The Felix Project is breaking logistical barriers in surplus food distribution. Their new processing unit allows bulk surplus to be turned into soups, sauces, and frozen goods, ensuring no surplus is wasted while helping alleviate food poverty in London.

Streetbox focuses on surplus fresh produce by converting gluts into long-lasting items like tinned passata. Their pilot project with 10 tonnes of surplus tomatoes showcases a scalable approach to food waste reduction.

Angry Monk and HERD Chefs are supporting the hospitality industry with a platform that connects chefs to surplus meat, seafood, and produce. This innovation helps producers reduce waste while enabling chefs to craft waste-conscious menus.

Driving Broader Impact

The Eat It Up Fund would not be possible without its supporters. Since 2023, Starbucks has donated over £763,000 to Hubbub, enabling 13 groundbreaking projects to flourish. This ongoing support has driven impactful change, such as The Wonki Collective’s matchmaking technology that connects food manufacturers to surplus buyers, saving 334 tonnes of CO2 emissions to date.

Towards a Sustainable Future for Food Systems

Hubbub’s Eat It Up Fund exemplifies the power of bold, targeted interventions. By empowering communities and industries to address food waste creatively, the fund is setting the stage for a more sustainable food system. These winners are set to implement and grow their projects in 2025 and are ones to keep an eye on.

To learn more about the Eat It Up Fund and the innovative work of its winners, visit eatitupfund.org.uk.