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Lost vegetables given new lease of life at Schiphol
Schiphol, 21 February 2019 – As from today, soups made by De Verspillingsfabriek will also be available at Schiphol Plaza. Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek is a joint initiative of HMSHost International, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and De Verspillingsfabriek. According to De Verspillingsfabriek, in the Netherlands we throw away at least €5 billion worth of food every year, even though this is often still perfectly edible. De Verspillingsfabriek went in search of a solution allowing the food industry to provide a new use for 'lost vegetables'. In De Verspillingsfabriek (which means ‘The Surplus Food Factory’), any vegetables that are considered to be too small, the wrong shape or wrongly coloured, as well as trimmings, cuttings and stalks, are used to cook delicious soups on the basis of special recipes. Guests at its new Schiphol outlet will be able to savour a variety of soups, including tomato soup and pea soup. As De Verspillingsfabriek also hates wasting human talent, the soups are made by people with a disadvantage on the labour market. In addition to the soups, guests at Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek can also enjoy the tastiest sausage rolls, pastries, muffins and brownies baked by Zorgbakkerij van Hutten, a bakery with a focus on sustainability and craftsmanship. Their products are baked according to recipes that feature less sugar and salt and use healthier fats. This is another place where no talent goes to waste, as the bakery employs individuals with a hearing impairment.
Ad Willemsen, General Manager of HMSHost Schiphol: “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. 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.” Tanja Dik, Director of Consumer Products & Services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: “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.” Bob Hutten, director of De Verspillingsfabriek: “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.” Soup & Bakery by De Verspillingsfabriek is located in the direction of Arrivals Hall 3, and is open daily from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.