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A LONDON-BASED project manager has cut her weekly food bill to just £5 by rummaging in bins and eating leftovers, cooked by total strangers.

But, far from scavenging for rotten scraps, her unwanted meals can even include gourmet restaurant dinners.

 Josephine ditched shopping for using apps to find food that restaurants, or people living nearby, planned to throw away
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Josephine ditched shopping for using apps to find food that restaurants, or people living nearby, planned to throw awayCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

Josephine Liang, 25, of Clerkenwell, London, who opted out of conventional grocery shopping a month ago, explained: “I want to use my money to travel and do more exciting things than just eating food.

“I’ve worked for charities and programmes focussed on food waste for a few years and had been doing this sort of thing on and off for about six months.

“Then I decided to go for it full time and practice what I preach.”

Josephine said she often uses traditional methods to track down leftover food.

 She travels up to five kilometres to collect things that are heavily reduced or free
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She travels up to five kilometres to collect things that are heavily reduced or freeCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

She said: “My friend and I started to investigate some places to bin rummage in London.

“Loads of food shops have the food on their shelves one minute. Then, when they close up, everything goes in the bin, because they have to sell fresh food the next day. It’s still perfectly edible and it’s such a shame it goes to waste.

“Some places have started mixing all the food together, so people can’t use it, but I think that’s such a shame.

“I realise people might not like the idea of it being in the bin, but we only take food that is clean and ok to eat. Most of the stuff hasn’t been there very long and is perfectly fine.”

Josephine’s “bin booty” has included fruit, vegetables and bread, which she will take home, cook and keep for a few days, or freeze, to eat later in the week.

She added: “I also go to supermarkets and look for yellow-stickered reduced food – again, it’s easy to cook it and freeze it."

 Josephine’s 'bin booty' has included fruit, vegetables and bread, which she will take home, cook and keep for a few days, or freeze, to eat later in the week
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Josephine’s 'bin booty' has included fruit, vegetables and bread, which she will take home, cook and keep for a few days, or freeze, to eat later in the weekCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

Aside from her bin sweeps, she has swapped shopping for using apps to find food that restaurants, or people living nearby, planned to throw away.

She said: “I work for food campaigner Tristram Stuart, which meant I had a bit of experience with these apps, through my job.

“I knew that there was loads of stuff out there and decided to take the plunge and do it full time.

“We throw away such a diverse range of food, in such great quantities and it has a huge impact on the environment. I want to use as many channels as possible and show that this is a sustainable way for anyone to live full-time, or even to do a few times a week."

 Now she plans to maintain her new way of putting food on the table for as long as possible
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Now she plans to maintain her new way of putting food on the table for as long as possibleCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

Turning to the app store on her phone, she found a food-sharing app called Olio, which allowed her to search through posts from people in the neighbouring area.

Anyone can offer leftover food or even alcohol on the app, then people nearby can offer to collect it – usually for free, but sometimes for a small charitable donation.

Josephine explained: “I travel up to five kilometres to collect things. Any further doesn’t make sense, as there’s a point where the impact of the travel outweighs the environmental impact of the food being thrown out.”

 Anyone can offer leftover food on app Olio, then people nearby can offer to collect it – usually for free
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Anyone can offer leftover food on app Olio, then people nearby can offer to collect it – usually for freeCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

Collecting meals has provided other fringe benefits for Josephine, who was spending between £20 and £30 a week on food, before she began her latest venture.

She said: “I’ve met loads of people as well, as I’ve had to go and pick things up.

“It’s been great to get out and see London, too.

“I’d got into a routine of just going back and forth to work and not exploring anything, but now I’ve seen so many parts of London I’ve never been to before.”

After using the app, Josephine signed up to be an Olio volunteer, spending one day a week helping businesses like Pret A Manger redistribute unused food, who then allow her to keep 10 per cent.

She said: “I do it on Mondays and it’s fantastic.

“I’ve ended up with so much food and been able to feed my friends and half my building!”

 She only takes food that is clean and ok to eat from the bin, she claims
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She only takes food that is clean and ok to eat from the bin, she claimsCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

Josephine also found an app called Too Good To Go, where restaurants like Yo Sushi! And Mister Lasagna, as well as local bakeries and eateries, redistribute unused food at the end of the day for a small fee.

She added: “For just a few pounds, you can get really huge portions of delicious, restaurant quality food.

“I think the best thing I got was a meat pie from a shop near my house. It was delicious. I’ve had so much great sushi and some really lovely pasta, which I’m always terrible at cooking.

“I’ve had some really tasty authentic meals for almost nothing.”

 She said that with a little bit of time and creative thinking, you can reuse so much of the food you waste
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She said that with a little bit of time and creative thinking, you can reuse so much of the food you wasteCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

The enterprising young woman has even invited her friends over for “free food parties.”

She laughed: “You end up with huge portions and I’ve thrown too good to waste parties to feed friends, with all the food I pick up and some alcohol I found on Olio."

Now she plans to maintain her new way of putting food on the table for as long as possible.

She said: “It makes me much more adventurous. I’ve never liked meat pies, but the one I ate, through Olio, was delicious.

“It’s really broadened my horizons and opened my eyes to British food, too. Despite having lived in the UK for a few years, I grew up in Hong Kong and had always stuck to Asian food, until now.

“I really can’t recommend doing this enough. So many of my friends have heard about it and said things like, ‘Why are we spending so much money in restaurants?’

 Josephine wants to spend the money she saves on travelling
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Josephine wants to spend the money she saves on travellingCredit: Collect/PA Real Life

“I really think it’s something that everyone can incorporate into their daily routine. With a little bit of time and creative thinking, you can reuse so much and help to reduce our food waste.”

For more information about Josephine’s experiment, follow her on instagram @free_tasting.

Previously we shared how a thrifty mum who saved thousands with meals that cost just 88p has answered critics by creating new meal plans – at just 60p.

And a mum of three saved £48,000 on family bills and quitted her JOB thanks to her love of coupons.