A FORMER university student has helped save over ONE MILLION ‘wonky’ or surplus pancakes from being thrown away in less than three years.
James Eid set up Earth & Wheat in March 2021 with the launch of the world’s first ‘wonky bread box’ as part of his mission to reduce food waste and help save the planet.
Around 16 per cent of all UK food waste occurs at the point it is produced according to Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and often is binned because it does not meet strict size, shape or even colour standards set by retailers.
Eid, a fourth-generation baker, started ‘rescuing’ baked goods from his own family bakery in Dunstable, Hertfordshire after witnessing the eyewatering amount of bread it was forced to throw out every day. He sold 10,000 boxes in Earth & Wheat’s first six weeks and has since partnered with other independent bakeries to help them reduce their waste too.
His fun ‘variety wonky bread box’ includes pancakes, tortilla wraps, crumpets, focaccia, folded flatbreads, pitta and even naans and, for every box sold he donates one meal to food distribution charities. The Earth & Wheat brand also offers rescued fruit and vegetables in special combination boxes with bread.
Now ahead of Pancake Day on February 13, Earth & Wheat has revealed its figures for rescued pancakes from 2021-2023 which total 1,173,592 single pancakes plus 35,448 donated to food charities. Overall, in three years, Eid’s company has saved a shocking 1,209,040 pancakes from going straight into the bin.
Eid, now, 22, who studied at Business at Lancaster University before graduating last summer, said: “It is amazing to think that when Earth & Wheat started it was just a concept – to try and do all we can to reduce food waste and make a difference.
“It is total madness to throw away perfectly good food just because the tortilla wrap is not a perfect circle, or a crumpet has too many holes – or not enough – in it when it still tastes exactly the same whatever it looks like!
“More than one in of every 10 pieces of all food is thrown away at the point it is produced in the supply chain because it doesn’t look perfectly right, and this needs to stop because no good food should go to waste.
“The fact we’ve now saved over one million pancakes as we head into Pancake Day is hugely satisfying and is a huge milestone. I must thank all our customers for continuing to support our rescue mission.”
Earth & Wheat also revealed it has saved more than 600 tonnes of bread from going to waste since its inception, over 60 tonnes of vegetables, and 600 tonnes of food overall, while it has donated 300,000 meals to UK food charities.
On average, a weekly membership to its bakery boxes saves 153kg of CO2eq per year which stops 2.9kg of greenhouse gas emission from entering the atmosphere.
Eid’s award-winning brand recently joined The King’s Coronation Food Project’s cause and donated 2,894 ‘meals’ to FareShare which saves good food from going to waste by redistributing it to frontline charities.
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