Work experience at Feedback HQ

Amy Smith spent a week at Feedback HQ, here are her thoughts;

From the ages of 5 to my early adolescent years I was told by mum to stop wasting my food and to “eat everything” on my plate. Now at the age of 19 and on the verge of being an adult, it’s up to me to decide how much food I want to eat, though I may occasionally get a quick glare from my mum for the sprouts still left at the side of my plate. However, since my week at Feedback I can now say that I have changed my attitude towards all vegetables and food in general.

It all started on the morning of the 27^th of February. I dodged through the traffic of London bridge to head to Feedback’s building on Mare street before the clock struck 10. Upon arrival I was greeted by Claire Woodhill, the Operations Coordinator (my supervisor) and was introduced to the team.

I learned many things at Feedback, for instance while reading their recent report I learned that tonnes and tonnes of food is being thrown away yearly by supermarkets – one supermarket had 30,000 tonnes of food waste in 6 months. But it didn’t stop there. I learned by the end of the report that tonnes of food is wasted on farms as supermarkets no longer require the crops or want them due to their appearance; I care a lot about appearance but even I found the whole idea ludicrous. After learning about these appalling facts, it made me really appreciate organisations like Feedback that try to stop food from going into the bin. At the end of day, there are still people who are dying from starvation.

At Feedback the team made me feel very welcomed and involved in their work. I was able to participate in helping the team spread their ideas through the use of social media (Twitter). The focus was on The Pig Idea on which I learned a lot from and now support. The whole idea of giving our food waste to pigs instead of crops is a no brainer. Being a medical student with care for animal’s welfare, I did question what type of food waste the pigs would eat. But after learning more about The Pig Idea I now know only hygienic food would be given.

With my supervisor, we worked together to prepare Feedback’s environmental policy plan. At this moment I really did feel part of the team, she allowed me to research information that would be beneficial and share my ideas. It is not very often that I am invited to share my ideas with an organisation.

Being at Feedback showed me how the team really are focused on a greener environment. They ensured that they never wasted their food and whatever scraps (e.g. fruit peels) were left over was always put in a food waste bin. The computers in the office were all refurbished, the paper was 100% recycled and the use of it was kept to an absolute minimum. It was clear they thought of every possible way to have less of an negative impact on the environment. The whole experience made me question whether I was doing my best to look after an environment I care about.

And lastly, if it was not for such friendly individuals working at Feedback I doubt I would enjoy have enjoyed myself as much. They truly are a team.

Interested in doing some work experience at Feedback HQ? Contact hello@feedbackglobal.org