Founders

My parents are farmers and so I know how much hard work goes into producing the food we all eat, and absolutely *hate* throwing it away! Fast forward to 2014, I was moving country and the removal men said I had to bin our food – I couldn’t do it and that was the light bulb moment when OLIO was born.

Growing up, to make ends meet, my mother was a scavenger, and I her assistant, helping her to rescue and resell everything, from plants to toilets. As a result giving things of value a second chance is part of my DNA.

Team

Growing up in the countryside and watching my grandparents grow their own food and use up every part of it, including the scraps, I was completely unfamiliar with food waste. After coming to uni I was shocked by the amount of food that landed in bins every week so when looking for summer internships I was more than happy to discover there is a start-up with a mission to end it.

I always knew I wanted to work for an environmental cause but after so long worrying about what exactly I wanted to do, I finally realised that the answer wasn’t even on my doorstep – it was closer than that! The majority of food waste happens right within our homes. With OLIO, we are making changes with real, tangible environmental impact and also forming an amazing, passionate community.

I have been passionate about reducing food waste since my university days – I even wrote my dissertation on food surplus redistribution. My ambition in making the food industry better has been realised since working at OLIO.

From ‘skipping’ in my student days, to running a blog on the issue for many years – tackling food waste has been a strident long-term personal mission of mine, which continues wholeheartedly at OLIO.

Having grown up in the countryside, food sharing amongst neighbours was always natural to me, and I hope we can bring it back in local communities all over the world (with the help of OLIO).

I’ve always been conscious of my own consumption and waste, so was excited to join the team at OLIO and be able to work on these issues on a larger scale.

I first became aware of the issue of food waste during my uni days, feeling frustrated at how much good food supermarkets threw away. Learning that most of UK food waste actually comes from the home, I made a commitment to live more sustainably and was thrilled to learn about OLIO.

I am always looking for ways to live more sustainably. I grow my own vegetables and avoid waste by not buying things I don’t need (tip of the day: make a shopping list before you go to the supermarket). The amazing thing about working at OLIO is that I am now making it easier for people all over the world to reduce waste in their lives too.

I’m originally from South Africa, where food waste is not a big problem, specifically due to the extreme poverty levels. Someone would gladly to take any spare food you may have. I was shocked to see the levels of food waste in the UK and I never realised the scale of the problem. Our world has enough food, we just need to distribute it in a better way.

My food waste journey began as a volunteer in Hackney, where I collected surplus food once a week and redistributed it via the OLIO app. The experience brought me closer to my neighbours and taught me that no good food should ever be thrown away.

My environmentalism & social conscience originally grew out of a concern for animal welfare. As I learned more about diet, waste, economics, my interest broadened. Today I try to live as sustainably as possible; we grow our own food, have solar panels, raise our own animals, and dream of switching from a hybrid to a fully electric car in the future.

I love to travel. Having visited over 50 countries so far in my life, I have come to appreciate the beauty of our planet and how everything is interconnected, an environmental equilibrium so to speak. On a personal level, I have always sought to consider the impact of my actions on our planet. On a professional level, in my 20+ years in sales roles, I have talked a lot about sustainability, but not done enough to make a meaningful impact. This is why I joined OLIO and I am delighted to be able to now walk the talk and help make a difference by working to end food waste.

I’m strongly against food waste and I believe myself – and the rest of the OLIO community – can help change the world’s view on this avoidable problem.

During my studies in Germany, I was part of a nationwide network of people who stood up to food waste by sharing food. Surprised something similar didn’t exist in London at the time, I was extremely happy to discover the arrival of OLIO in early 2015.

I have always been food conscious from a very young age, food sharing was very common amongst my family and friends. I was shocked when first hearing half of food waste takes place at home, so I am very excited to be joining the team at OLIO and making a difference one household at a time.

Preventing food waste has always been a key issue for me. I signed up as a Food Waste Hero in January 2018 and have been astounded by OLIO’s progress and impact ever since.

I grew up in South Korea, the country with the world’s strictest food waste laws and a leader in food waste reduction. So I’m used to not wasting food and I appreciate that small thoughtful actions can make a big difference!

In the past, I’ve worked in (and run) some of London’s great food trucks and it always pained me to throw food away. I’m super excited to be part of the solution, give food a second chance, and make sure that people can continue to share food safely.

I have always been conscious of the problem of food waste and food poverty, so joining the OLIO team was the perfect way to grow professionally, while helping make the world a better place.

My passion for reducing food waste started when I was in my late teens. I worked at a famous patisserie in Toronto and was horrified when they threw out a rubbish bag of unsold cakes on my first day. For the rest of my time there, I took all the unsold cakes home and distributed them to my neighbours. Needless to say, my neighbours were very disappointed when I left that job!

Market Makers

I’ve always been inspired by the green technology industry. OLIO is exceptional as it provides the general public with a ‘back-to-basics’ way of saving the planet, one piece of food at a time! OLIO has completely changed my attitude to food waste and I am now working to change other people’s attitudes too!

Having grown up in México, where poverty and need are less than a doorstep away, made me forever aware that binning something should be our last option. Today, and thanks to working with OLIO, I can now add to that and say binning shouldn’t even be an option, and if it still is, keeping it as friendly as I can for the environment is now part of my life’s premises, along with this old English proverb, ¨One man’s trash is another man’s treasure¨.

Growing up, my mum was the most amazing, resourceful cook, and she would always use lot’s of homegrown produce. Cooking & growing your own food makes you appreciate it so much more. Wasting something that you have put so much effort, time and love into producing, makes no sense to me.

I have followed my passion for food by working in hospitality planning events, catering, and hundreds of pop dinners with many talented chefs on the San Francisco food scene. This is how I realized how much waste there was and it left me feeling unsatisfied. It is what lead me to my quest for a more purposeful career path and how I proudly ended up joining the OLIO team.