The Long Table restaurant in England serves meals based on food that would otherwise go to waste and on a pay-what-you-can system.
Everyone has a seat at this restaurant. The Long Table is revolutionizing British – and even world – restaurant industry by creating a space based on “You pay what you can”.
“Everyone pays what they can for their meal, which makes our food accessible to everyone. It’s not about charity – it’s about dignity, equality and a community that supports those who need a helping hand,” reads the project’s website. “It’s about creating a space where everyone is welcome to eat, talk, laugh and find a place.”
The menus are determined by the ingredients available, which mostly come from local producers and therefore respect seasonality. A large part comes from FareShare, an institution that redistributes surplus food, and the rest comes from local producers.
According to”The Guardian“, 8 million adults and 3 million children will face food insecurity in the UK in 2024 – double the rate recorded in 2021. After rampant inflation over the last two years, the cost of food has risen by 25% and hospitals have seen an alarming increase in hospitalizations due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and malnutrition.
On the other hand, every year UK farms, businesses and families throw away 6.4 million tons of edible food, enough to feed everyone three meals a day for 11 weeks, says climate action NGO Wrap.
In addition to this total social imbalance, there is also an environmental one, since adding together the costs of farming, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, retailing, transportation, storage and preparation, followed by waste treatment and disposal, food waste is responsible for around 18 million tons of carbon emissions per year.
The Long Table tries to solve these various problems by seating everyone at long tables and serving what would previously have been thrown away. It opens at 10 a.m. for coffee and cakes, at noon it starts serving lunch and there is also dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Last year, “The Long Table” fed around 20,000 people at below-cost prices – many of them free of charge – while saving 3.4 tons of food destined for the trash and paying local suppliers fair prices for ingredients.
The Long Table can achieve all this because of its structure and business model. Incorporated as a non-profit community interest company, it derives income from its sales and activities.
Losses on food, with around half of customers paying less than the cost price, are mitigated by income from the café and bar, and by the constant income provided by subscriptions, which make it possible to pay for meals for those who can’t afford to do so. It is also possible to make donations.
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This article actively contributes to the eradication of poverty in all its forms, everywhere. This SDG also aims to ensure that everyone has equal rights to economic resources and access to basic services.
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