The first of these is to see if London’s Plan Zheroes<\/a> initiative can be applied where I live. PlanZheroes is a clever yet simple idea:<\/strong> identify sources of surplus food and connect those who have it with those who need it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Pubs; staff canteens; restaurants; clubs; offices who order sandwiches for meetings; and supermarkets. All have surplus food at the end of a day, its the nature of the business, more than 1.6million tonnes of surplus food is sent to landfill every year, which contributes to the increase in greenhouse gases.<\/strong> And yet at the same time\u00a0there are 4 million people in the UK living below the breadline<\/strong> many of whom live below the radar and do not want to be seen to be in difficulties.<\/p>\n In 2012 I set out to see if this might work in Lewes and the surrounding areas and invited Maria Ana Botelho Neves, one of the PlanZheroes originators, to come and participate in a Knowledge Cafe<\/a>. Held at Le Magasin Lewes<\/a> it was an informal couple of hours: a chance to discuss how the plan has worked in London and to see if the conditions are right for it to work here.<\/p>\n A good cross section was needed for it to be a representative sample:<\/p>\n The event was well attended and the genesis for the launch of Plan Zheroes in Sussex.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0If you want a postcard or little secret guide go to PlanZheroes<\/a>. Here’s a snapshot, click on the picture to enlarge it:<\/p>\n A year on, with food banks proliferating and the challenges facing many families increasing where are ‘we’?<\/p>\n Here is how Plan Zheroes fits into the Surplus Food Spectrum<\/p>\n \u00a0Phase Two of this ‘project’ for me is to be on hand to help Plan Zheroes as it sets out down its corporate governance path and to bring many of the better knowledge management techniques to bear as it expands its operational reach beyond the capital.<\/p>\n Having been accorded Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) status by the Charity Commissioners and been invited to be a founding trustee we are now setting about creating a sustainable infrastructure. Here’s a couple of slides from the Strategy Workshop I helpd to run for industry stakeholders on December 10th.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following article appeared in the Portugal News<\/p>\n An accomplished Lisbon-born design strategist has become a main driving force behind a new project currently being implemented in London, which aims to build a bridge between the city\u2019s surplus food and the charities that feed the hungry, reducing food wastage in the process.<\/p>\n Plan Zheroes\u2019 main mission is to identify businesses such as hotels, restaurants and caf\u00e9s that have surplus food and to make them known to the charities that could use that food to feed the needy. March 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huge event tomorrow when one of London’s main tourist attractions and markets sets about making use of surplus food: Here’s the Press Release:<\/p>\n Saving waste at Borough Market<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n From this Saturday 21st<\/sup> June a new food waste initiative will be operating out of Borough Market for the first time. Unsold bread, fruit and veg from the Market will be collected by FoodSave, with the help of Plan Zheroes, at the end of Saturday trading and donated to The Dragon Caf\u00e9 on Borough High Street.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Borough Market was matched with local charity, The Dragon Caf\u00e9, by the FoodSave project, which offers free support to small and medium food businesses in London to help them address the food waste issue. The development of the scheme has been supported by Plan Zheroes, which finds, supports and inspires food businesses that are willing to donate their surplus food to local charities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Dragon Caf\u00e9 is part of Mental Fight Club<\/a>. Every Monday The Dragon Caf\u00e9 provides a simple, affordable and healthy menu and a wide range of creative and well-being activities, all of which are free and open to all.\u00a0 Vulnerable people are particularly welcome and over 200 customers are served each week.\u00a0 In time there may also be the opportunity to help additional charities that can use Market ingredients picked up during the week after trading.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Borough Market traders involved to date are the Bread Ahead Bakery,\u00a0Karaway Bakery,\u00a0Olivier\u2019s Bakery,\u00a0Ted\u2019s Veg\u00a0and\u00a0Paul Wheeler (Fresh Supplies) Ltd<\/a>. Together they are joining over 240 small and medium-sized food businesses in London diverting surplus food responsibly.<\/p>\n Keith Davis, Managing Director of Borough Market said:<\/p>\n \u201cBorough Market is committed to inspiring people about food, creativity and sustainability – whether it\u2019s our 100% landfill free policy or collecting coffee grounds from our restaurants to use in our Market Hall garden. Working with FoodSave, we are proud to be doing our bit to reduce as much food waste as possible, before using surplus food to feed people in need.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlotte Jarman, FoodSave project officer at Sustain, said:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe are very excited to be working with such an iconic London food destination as Borough Market to divert surplus food to good causes such as The Dragon Caf\u00e9.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s hope that this move inspires other markets around the capital to set up similar schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information about Borough Market, its traders and events please visit www.boroughmarket.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information contact Ellie Weehuizen, Communications Assistant, on 020 7940 7908, or email ellie@boroughmarket.org.uk<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The secret ingredient in the fight against food poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n Plan Zheroes Event \u2013 Thursday 29th January 2015 (18:00-21:00), City Hall, London<\/strong><\/p>\n We would like to invite you to join us to celebrate Plan Zheroes\u2019 three year anniversary and to share in the launch of our secret ingredient in fighting food waste, our new interactive website.<\/p>\n In the UK, 13 million people are living in poverty whilst 650,000 tonnes of perfectly good food is thrown away by food businesses. Plan Zheroes seeks to inspire food businesses to give their surplus food to those who need it so it will never go to waste.<\/p>\n Plan Zheroes\u2019 new website will act as a social network where relationships are built between food businesses and charities, communication is quick and simple, and food reaches those in need, safely and conveniently.<\/p>\n We are honoured to have Jack Monroe as guest speaker! The Girl Called Jack<\/b><\/a> campaigner, columnist and author is coming to share a bit of her experience of food poverty and her views about the role of surplus food in our cities.<\/p>\n Guests will have the opportunity to sample delicious dishes from Dinner Exchange East, all of which will be created from surplus food. We already have a great network of Zheroes attending this event and we\u2019d love you to join us and become a Zhero too!<\/p>\n We hope to see you on 29th January.<\/p>\n Best wishes<\/p>\n The Plan Zheroes team<\/p>\n To register your attendance at our event and for more information on event timings and <\/b>directions to the event please <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a>. (the password is: secret ingredient)<\/b><\/p>\n Following the launch at City Hall a lot has been written about the new platform.<\/p>\n In March FT.com published:<\/p>\n noting:<\/p>\n Over the last couple of years, Plan Zheroes, an organisation focused on eliminating food wastage and helping the hungry, has set up a vital business social network that connects major retailers and the third sector. We can now take much more food before it is thrown out, and supply it to those in urgent need of nourishment.<\/p>\n Having worked for some time with phone-based processes, we decided an internet-based solution was necessary. In the past, when attempting to contact cafes and restaurants that have excess food, charities in need of food, and those in between transporting the items, extensive phone calls were necessary. When juggling literally tons of food, much of which would go off quickly, this was not a good enough solution.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In May the prestigious Forbes Magazine published:<\/p>\n They noted:<\/p>\n Its key aim was to enable volunteers to communicate and quickly respond to retailers that have surplus food, and allow organizers to match the food to the needs of the hungry.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Great support from two of the World’s leading online and print heavyweights.<\/p>\n 3 years ago I was part of an invited group that met at the business of Andrew Creswell, a relative of Lotti Henley one of the three founders of Plan Zheroes (PZ).<\/p>\n PZ was then an award winning citizens movement that had won acclaim for an innovative yet simple idea: instead of consigning surplus food to waste why not divert it to the growing number of people unable to feed themselves on a regular basis?<\/p>\n By publicizing the issue and identifying the supply and demand parameters PZ was at the forefront of changes taking place in the surplus food movement. And it used an online Map to facilitate the transfer of the surplus food.<\/p>\n The challenge: to give a corporate structure to the embryonic organization so that PZ might scale its operations. So three of us became Founding Trustees of PZ that was established as a Charitable Organisation.<\/p>\n Today, PZ has an established team lead by CEO Laura Hopper, Shane Holland, an experienced industry player as its Chair and three other well qualified Trustees: Carla Morris-Papps (Legal); Phil Hill (Technological); and Andrew Mercieca (Finance).<\/p>\n The past three years have seen PZ develop a strong presence in the surplus food market and, in conjunction with technology partners Keytree, develop an exciting web platform.<\/p>\n My tenure at PZ has been rewarding, stimulating and one I will look back on with immense pride. I am delighted that replacing me as Knowledge Trustee is Chris Wilkie one of PZ\u2019s original founders, a man who understands the on the ground dynamics better than anyone having helped set up many of the local surplus food transfer schemes in London.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I want to try and make a difference however small: to help improve people’s lives. Many of the global clients I’ve worked with are in the\u00a0third sector. The skills used to surface issues, improve communication \/ dialogue and get people … Continue reading The journey starts (in 2012)<\/h2>\n
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![\"cafe](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/cafe-1-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Plan-Zheroes-Image-1024x337.jpg\" "\\"What")
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June 2013<\/h2>\n
![\"UK](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/UK-Food-Waste-Spectrum-June-13-300x207.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDecember 2013<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>![\"Activity](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Activity-Slide-1-300x224.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nJanuary 2014<\/h2>\n
Portuguese design strategist spearheads UK surplus food project<\/h1>\n
![\"Portuguese](\"http:\/\/www.theportugalnews.com\/uploads\/news\/page7_Food.JPG\")
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\nThis is done using an online map which locates the providers and the recipients, building a bridge between the two.
\nIt also aims to promote the plan\u2019s \u2018Zheroes\u2019 \u2013 or \u2018heros of zero food waste\u2019 \u2013 which to the project\u2019s mentors are \u201crestaurants, food retailers, catering companies, institutions,\u00a0who serve, sell, buy, distribute food, and have found ways to give their surplus food to people (as opposed to\u00a0throwing it\u00a0away or\u00a0sending it to incinerators).\u201d
\nDescribing herself as an \u201centrepreneurial, idea-driven systems thinker as well as a design strategist\u201d, Maria Ana Neves is CEO of Plan Zheroes and one of several creative thinkers spearheading the project, which was founded by inspirational 87-year-old War Hero and Austrian Aristocrat Lotti Henley.
\nHenley, whose family\u2019s wealth and possessions were pillaged by the communists during the Second World War, is herself no stranger to hunger, having been forced to find food in bins during the six-year conflict.
\n\u201cThat experience shaped my whole life and I have never taken food for granted since. This was the motivation behind my new campaign Plan Zheroes\u201d, she told the London Sustainable Development Commission, which selected her as a London Leader in 2011.
\n\u201cIt appals me to see the amount of food we waste in this city on a daily basis. Plan Zheroes aims to inspire food retailers and catering businesses to stop sending their waste food to landfill and, instead, donate it to charities that support the homeless and those on low incomes\u201d, she explained.
\nFigures from the London Sustainable Development Commission indicate that approx-imately\u00a06.5million tonnes of food and drink is wasted a year by the UK\u2019s food supply chain, valued at \u00a317 billion.
\nWithin the hospitality sector specifically, in 2009, 1.5million tonnes of waste was sent to landfill with a carbon impact of 4million tonnes of CO2 equivalent; \u00a3724 million of this was\u00a0avoidable food waste.
\nReports in the British press exposing the UK\u2019s food wastage only served as further ammunition to fuel the fire in Plan Zheroes\u2019 belly, as did findings from the Greater London Authority, which proved hunger exists in the British capital.
\n\u201cThere are entire families that don\u2019t have access to food\u201d, explains Maria Ana Neves, who has lived and worked in the UK for 11 years.
\nThe Plan Zheroes project follows three main lines of action: finding and indentifying potential donors and recipients of surplus food; influencing mentalities, and finding solutions so that the food is not thrown away.
\n\u201cThere are lots of companies that want to donate their surplus food but don\u2019t know how to. People generally want to donate, but I was surprised by the difficulties that the charities face in receiving the food\u201d, Maria Neves told The Portugal News.
\nHaving been granted financing from the Royal Society of Arts and with help from the Mapping for Change organisation, the Plan Zheroes map is now coming up to its second year of service, having been launched in February 2012.
\n\u201cWe are still measuring its impact but we have quite a lot of evidence that there are set-ups benefitting from this project and many \u2018zero food waste\u2019 companies are giving their surplus food, so those are fantastic indicators\u201d, Maria Ana stresses.
\nThe project\u2019s next goal, according to 58-year-old management consultant Paul Corney, one of Plan Zheroes\u2019 founding trustees, is to \u201csee if it will work outside London.\u201d
\nThanks to it being technology-based he has \u201cgreat belief that the project could be transferrable globally.\u201d
\nCorney, who has a home in Lisbon and regularly visits Portugal, adds: \u201cThere are people making heat-or-eat decisions just around the corner from places that are throwing food out. In the world we live in, that has got to be wrong. And if there is anything that we can do to help each other then we should be doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"PZ](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PZ-Video-300x180.jpg\")
<\/a>The first short story of Plan Zheroes.<\/a><\/p>\nJune 2014<\/h2>\n
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January 2015<\/h2>\n
![\"Gloria\"](\"http:\/\/www.knowledgeetal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Gloria-300x156.jpg\")
<\/a>The event will be hosted by Plan Zheroes and the Mayor of London\u2019s FoodSave programme, which offers free support to small and medium-sized London food businesses to help them reduce their food waste and put surplus food to good use. Guest speakers will talk about challenges and the innovative opportunities to use surplus food and tackle food poverty in the UK!<\/p>\nMay 2015<\/h2>\n
Retailers slash food wastage with collaborative social network<\/a><\/h1>\n
This Homeless Charity Got Smart And Built Own Social Network<\/a><\/h1>\n
My journey ends (February 2016)<\/h2>\n