Supporters

Giles Coren, restaurant critic for The Times

‘I doggy bag everything I don’t manage to finish. It’s an excellent way of stretching the preposterous expense of restaurant dining to a second meal, not forcing down calories my fat belly could well do without, and not offending the chef – who might think I didn’t enjoy his cooking. I’ve never once had so much as a snooty look from a waiter, and people should feel no shame or embarrassment at all about asking for one. I learned this from eating endless giant feasts with Sue Perkins, who really does feed the finest left-over restaurant delicacies to her beagles. Dog-lovers are such strange people…’

 

 

Matthew Fort, food writer and broadcaster

‘We all need to watch our waste lines.’

 

 

Tristram Stuart, campaigner and activist

‘Isn’t it strange that diners feel more embarrassed about asking to take home leftovers than they do about the amount of food they leave on their plates that ends up in the bin. Doggy boxes are a brilliant idea for making people think about food waste and provide the chance to enjoy a meal twice.’

 

Peter Lefort, Project Officer Community Action Groups Oxfordshire

This idea is both wonderfully simple and potentially crucial. Too often we waste good food purely down to social awkwardness, but no-one benefits from that situation. Too Good To Waste helps the business, helps the customer and helps the planet, all the while making us think twice about our relationship with the food we use

Andy Dawe, head of food and drink programme, WRAP

‘WRAP research shows than an estimated 3.4 million tonnes of waste is produced by UK hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants every year, with much of this waste coming directly from the kitchen. Working in partnership with businesses, individuals and communities, WRAP’s vision is a world without waste, where resources are used sustainably. We therefore welcome The SRA’s ‘Too Good to Waste’ campaign, as it will make it easier for customers to eat all that they order in  restaurants, which will in turn help cut down the amount of food we throw away.’

 

 

Kath Dalmeny, policy director, Sustain

‘When food is thrown away, what also goes into the bin is all the effort, fuel, animal feed, water and natural resources that went into making that food in first place, which is a shocking waste. So it’s fantastic to see the Sustainable Restaurant Association running such a practical scheme as ‘Too Good to Waste’, to help restaurants and diners cut food waste.’

 

 

Lindsay Boswell, CEO, FareShare

‘We regard the Sustainable Restaurant Association as a sister organisation, working with the food industry and supporting the reduction of waste. The doggy bag idea is simple and really well thought through. Let’s make it part of our culture and adopted everywhere. Wish I had thought of it!’