The Quality of Life project group embarked on their exciting excursion today – to Woolworths! The group have been focussing their attention on the global goals of Zero Hunger and No Poverty, we have also grabbed on to the Sustainability’s group of recycling. So we thought we’d head down to Woolworths to see what they were doing to help the UN achieve their Global Goals. Before we left, the students developed a set of questions they were hoping to ask the staff:
- How much food do people waste?
- How can i help Woolworths make positive changes?
- What do Woolworths put in their bins?
- How much plastic does Woolworths use?
- What is the most abundant fruit or veggie in the bin?
- Does Woolworths have a compost?
With our Questions in hand, we walked up to Woolworths and waited patiently for Gemma, our guide for the tour.
When we arrived the students were asked to get into the Woolworths groove and put their uniforms on.
Gemma, Jodi and Danni began our tour by talking a little bit about healthy eating and where you find the most healthy foods in the store? We all knew the answer was obviously in the fruit and veggie section.
Gemma and Jodi then took us out to the back of the store and thats when we really started to understand how Woolworths is helping the Global Goals. The first thing of interest was the compost bin! Gemma told us about the process involved with the fruit and veg that ended up in the compost bin. Woolworths have a special ordering system, that only allows them to order what they need. The food that is then still edible, but may not be fit for display, is taken to a company called Fare Share – an organisation that takes donated food and creates meals for people in need. Woolworths helped make 500 meals for people this year. The fruit and veg that is inedible (which there is minimal amounts!) is then put into the compost. This is mainly lettuce leaves, cauliflower leaves and the occasional dropped/bruised fruit. Woolworths also encourage people who want to use their composts, in particular famers who need help to feed their animals. Gemma also mentioned the items on the shelves, that if their expiry date is within 3 months, they are removed and sent to an organisation called FoodBank, where the groceries are also distributed to people in need. The students were glad to see Woolworths were helping a few of the global goals including Zero Hunger, No Poverty, Good Health and Wellbeing and Reduced Inequalities.
We then moved on to finding out how Woolworths tackle their waste problem. Woolworths encourage people to bring in their soft plastics to add to their own waste and then get a company called Redcycle to come and collect the rubbish, which they then pass on to another company Replas, to help make useful things out of the recycled soft plastic! The cardboard is also squashed down and sent off to a recycling centre.
Our last stop was a quick discussion about Woolworths’ program “Odd Bunch”! The Odd Bunch is an initiative created by Woolworths to encourage people to eat fruit and vegetables that may not look beautiful but are still tasty! The idea that we shouldn’t let food go to waster because of their appearance. The Odd Bunch is packaged up and sold at a reduced price.
The students walked away with a good feeling that Woolworths were actually helping the UN begin to achieve their global goals.
Stay tuned for the students reflections on their excursion.