Adam Smith is the founder and co-director of The Real Junk Food Project, a community interest company that aims to abolish waste food through a ‘Pay-As You-Feel’ concept, empowering communities and inspiring individuals. He has been a fully-qualified chef since December 2005 and has just returned from a 15 month trip to Australia.
The Real Junk Food Project is a collaborative effort between catering professionals and activists to bring about a radical change in our food system. As well as the positive environmental impacts of reducing edible food waste, the project also has clear social benefits through operating a strictly Pay-as-you-feel (PAYF) policy. This revolutionary concept offers an alternative to the conventional payment system as there is no price on any produce of the café. The system transcends monetary transactions and liberates people to use their skills and attributes, as well as money, to pay for their meals. By making people think about what they wish to contribute for their meals, the idea is to get society thinking about how they value food as a resource.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx