2015 Highlights from Feeding the 5000

Feeding the 5000 has had a tremendous 2015. Since 2009 we have held 34 events in 30 cities spread across 18 countries. Here’s a look at some of the highlights from this year:

To coincide with World Food Day, we held TWO Feeding the 5000 events in one day! At Feeding the 5000 Warsaw we served 5000 portions of the main meal and gave away 600 kg of food through Disco Chopping, workshops and grocery giveaways– all this despite torrential downpour!

Prague’s Kriva Polevk, or Wonky Soup, was organised in partnership with Zachraň jídlo, Feedback, FUSIONS and many others. The event had loads of information boards around the square to engage with passersbys and let them know about ongoing work such as Gleaning Network EU. There were also workshops such as carrot-top leaf pesto making. The event has helped expand the reach of the Gleaning Network in the Czech Republic and catalyse action.

Banquet des 5000 Paris was part of Alternatiba’s wider weekend festival on the 26th and 27th of September held at Place de la Republique. The festival aimed to show alternatives to addressing climate change and inequality that already exist. They brought together over 400 organisations and had over 60,000 people attending the event.
Over 250 dedicated volunteers took part and their enthusiasm created a celebratory two days of disco chopping and feasting. We even had an ugly fruit and veg demonstration to further spread the word around the festival. There was a special space for children where they made  Disco Salad, food waste signs and sculptures from wonky veg.
The event was widely covered on large national media – including several key TV slots on Le Petite Journal, TV3 France and Canal+.

Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue partnered with Feedback and other local organisations to organise Feeding the 5000 Omaha for US Food Day. It was the first event of its kind in the Midwest and the whole feast was made into a mini-festival with cooking demos and family activities such as making fruit waste smoothies powered by bike. Though food availability is ample in developed nations, the event highlighted how food is not being distributed fairly. There was a big apple gleaning that showed how food waste occurs at the farm level for reasons such as apples being oddly shaped or not meeting size requirements. We look forward to continuing the fight against food waste in the US in the future.

On the 10th October Feedback organized Feeding the 5000 Athens– the second in Greece. The event brought together a roster of partners including the British Council, Boroume, WWF, the City of Athens and FUSIONS. Following the event, Feedback went to a refugee camp and fed thousands more – in this time of difficulty for many, Feeding the 5000 Athens sent a strong message of solidarity.  Press coverage was far reaching, with international media interest from the US and China.