Duty Calls: A place where neither food nor talent is wasted

Welcome to Duty Calls. This regular feature aims to shine a light on some of the most laudable examples of altruism and sustainability within the travel retail industry by companies that go beyond the call of duty.

THE NETHERLANDS. ‘Lost’ vegetables are being given a new lease of life at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with the opening of a sustainable food concession.

Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek is a joint initiative between HMSHost International, the airport and De Verspillingsfabriek (The Surplus Food Factory).

De Verspillingsfabriek was set up to tackle the problem of food wastage. The company says at least €5 billion worth of food is thrown away in the Netherlands every year, even though much of it is still edible. De Verspillingsfabriek’s solution offers the food industry a new use for ‘lost vegetables’ – those considered to be too small, the wrong shape or wrongly coloured.

Soups including tomato soup and pea soup are available now at Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek.

These vegetables, as well as trimmings, cuttings and stalks, are used by De Verspillingsfabriek to cook a variety of soups based on special recipes, which are now being offered at the new Schiphol outlet.

Ensuring that human talent is not wasted either, the soups are being made by people with a disadvantage on the labour market, the partners said.

The outlet also features a Zorgbakkerij van Hutten bakery, offering sausage rolls, pastries, muffins and brownies. The products are baked according to recipes that feature less sugar and salt and use healthier fats. The bakery employs individuals with a hearing impairment, in keeping with the theme of employing diverse human talent.

Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek is located at Schiphol Plaza.

The food industry often rejects vegetables that are considered to be too small, the wrong shape or wrongly coloured.

“I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we are very proud to welcome this newest addition to Schiphol’s hospitality range,” said HMSHost Schiphol General Manager Ad Willemsen. “A joint approach really allows true change to be realised. This project shows that we waste neither food nor talent, but deploy them to create new products.”

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Director of Consumer Products & Services Tanja Dik commented: “Vegetables don’t necessarily have to look their very best to be consumed at Schiphol. We are very proud of this joint sustainable initiative. Besides providing a new use for residual streams from the food industry, we are also offering our visitors a healthy and well-considered choice with the addition of De Verspillingsfabriek to our range.

“We are really looking forward to this collaboration and will be making every attempt to incorporate such sustainable initiatives in the range of shops and catering outlets at Schiphol more often.”

De Verspillingsfabriek’s mission is to lead the way in the Netherlands in the formulation of food waste solutions.

De Verspillingsfabriek Director Bob Hutten said: “We are very proud to be collaborating with HMSHost and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This is an excellent example of how social, circular and commercial enterprises can all join together.

“We need initiatives like this to prove that there are viable alternatives to current practice. It’s true collaboration. I really hope that our message will reach a lot of people, and of course that passengers will experience for themselves that our soups and bakery products are truly the most delicious.”

NOTE: The Moodie Davitt Report also publishes The Foodie Report, the world’s only media focused on airport (and other travel-related) food & beverage. The Foodie Report Newsletter is published every two weeks and The Foodie Report Zine every month.

Please send all news of food & beverage outlet openings, together with images, menus, video etc to Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com to ensure unrivalled global exposure.

The company also organises the annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards. Last year’s FAB took place on 20-21 June in Helsinki. FAB 2019 will be held at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on 26-27 June.

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