An appetite for loose fruit and veg with Gino D’Acampo
It’s a chilly and cloudy winter’s morning, but there’s a buzz of anticipation cutting through the grey as our film crew sets up at local corner shop in Greenwich.
Baskets of colourful fruit and vegetables are positioned alongside packaged fruit and vegetables and the Love Food Hate Waste branding is put in situ as this local spot is transformed into the set for our Food Waste Action Week film shoot with our celebrity ambassador, Gino D’Acampo.
Every March during Food Waste Action Week, we focus attention on the hugely important but often overlooked climate change issue of food waste. This year, between the 18th and 24th March, we’ll be encouraging everyone to ‘Choose What You’ll Use’ and highlighting the benefits buying loose fruit and vegetables can bring both to our pockets and the planet.
Today, we are celebrating ‘All the Single Veggies’ via a humorous parody video highlighting the many benefits of choosing loose fruit and veg over pre-packed produce. In the film, Gino will show that by opting for loose produce, shoppers will not only avoid waste, but can also choose exactly what they’ll use - be that a slightly green banana, just two carrots, the perfect baked potato for every family member or a single red apple.
Food waste costs the average household of four £1,000 every single year and our research has revealed that 60,000 tonnes of household food waste could be prevented annually if items such as apples, bananas and potatoes were sold loose. Food for thought.
But, back to our celebrity ambassador. This year, we are beyond excited to be working with TV chef and personality, Gino D’Acampo, who is known for his career with This Morning, multiple cookbooks, restaurants and foodie adventures with the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Fred Siriex.
Gino arrives with a wave of warm energy, his familiar Italian charm attracting the attention of curious onlookers.
He strikes up instant rapport with our film director, Dan, and filming gets underway.
The next few hours see shopkeeper Gino giving us all a very good giggle as he dances with unsuspecting shoppers entering the store, makes countless vegetable innuendos and jokingly chastises shoppers when they opt for pre-packaged fruit and veg over loose produce.
Behind the humour, Gino’s passion for the campaign is serious: “Finding out just how much food ends up in the bin really shocked me, so I’m joining Love Food Hate Waste to show some love to ‘All the Single Veggies’ this Food Waste Action Week. As a passionate chef, there’s nothing I love more than choosing the best produce for those I’m cooking for. Being able to pick out just what I need for each dish I make; it can’t be beaten. Saving food, saving money, and getting the best out of your cooking. What could be better?”
