Much of what we have left over in terms of food and therefore throw it away, can still be used and thus save money. In the municipality of Opmeer there are now several residents who want to help others in this way. So is Dennis Lonis. He has a large vegetable garden and would like to contribute.
In these expensive times Dennis came up with the idea to distribute the vegetables he has left over. “It doesn’t matter to me whether I plant 10 or 20 seeds, so I started looking for people in the municipality who could use some help,” Dennis says.
Dennis says he likes to grow extra vegetables to give away for free – NH Nieuws
Dennis can eat vegetables from his vegetable garden all year round. “I have 300 square meters of vegetable garden and can grow some more. I also like to do it,” Dennis says. He immediately notes that it is strange that vegetables in the supermarket are more expensive than unhealthy foods.
He would like to help another family from the municipality of Opmeer. “I think I can grow enough extra so that the family can eat vegetables from my vegetable garden all year round,” Dennis says. Although, according to him, this depends on the freezer in the family. “If it goes well, I might grow a little more next year.”
Facebook group against waste
Mandy van Eijk from Opmeer also wants to help fellow villagers. “I’m really a big waster of food, I think that’s very stupid of myself but I often throw away good food.”
After reading a message about a boy who was unable to eat from his parents due to lack of money and as a result passed out at school, she decided to take action. “I started a group on Facebook for people in Opmeer and Spanbroek. Here residents can offer leftovers. This can be a supper, but also something you won’t use but is still good,” says Mandy.
She hopes this will prevent food waste and help other people to save money as well. “People used to go to each other much more often with trays. Now we live more in a society where everyone has to take care of themselves. I hope that this will change things back a bit,” said Mandy.
In the Facebroek group, people who want something can report this to the provider via a personal message. As a result, it is not possible to see who is collecting what. “It may be that people have no money to eat, but you can also come from work and forget to get groceries. The group is for everyone, otherwise it will be thrown away.”
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