Speaking to letsrecycle.com at the launch of the Food Waste (Reduction) Bill in Westminster yesterday, the Brighton & Hove MP said she had been ‘moved’ by the number of UK residents driving to Calais with surplus food.
There are already some 3,500 migrants known to be based in Calais, with thousands more making the perilous journey to Europe from North Africa and the Middle East – including war-torn Syria.
The Green MP said the potential to divert surplus food to refugee camps on the continent would be “very helpful”.
She said: “I’ve already been moved by the compassion of ordinary people to help out in this crisis, driving themselves over to Calais and filling their vehicles with clothing and food.
“If there was a way, this could increase pressure on the supply chain to do more redistribute, with the added benefit of diverting food waste from landfill to people who need it.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans for the UK to accept up to 20,000 refugees from Syria over the next five years – a gesture described by the Green Party as ‘feeble’.
Launch
Ms Lucas attended the launch to voice her support for Kerry McCarthy’s All Party Group to tackle food waste across the political spectrum.
She also praised the work of the Real Junk Food Project in her Brighton & Hove constituency, a collaborative effort between catering professionals and activists to provide ‘pay-as-you-feel’ food for homeless people that would otherwise be thrown away.
She added: “The All Party Group has been set up to tackle the issue of food waste. Now is a meaningful moment to push this forward. This is a solution that adds all these issues up together and ticks all of those boxes.”
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