B-day girl Dhruti Shah came into APM’s workshop and party in dramatic fashion. To launch her wonderful & hilarious new project with friends, she threw a Beauty and the Beast-themed afternoon tea. This event launched a national movement to prevent food waste. Shah is the first to admit she’s no saint. Shah actively calls on her friends in restaurants to adopt more sustainable practices.
Shah’s dedication to reducing food waste comes from her childhood. With Gujarati Jain Kenyan-Indian roots, she grew up in a vegetarian family. From an early age, she understood that food waste at her place setting was just not going to fly. This family heritage heavily influences Matea’s perspective on food and waste, compelling her to make a change.
In fact, on meals with buddies, Shah usually digs into her bag. Now it’s become commonplace to everyone around the table after their lunches or dinners. Her friends, like Lorna, snicker at this overture. The term has a more profound interpretation: a deliberate attempt to reduce food waste. Shah had been reading disturbing statistics, such as the fact that 1.05 billion tonnes of food are thrown away every year globally. Inspired by this statistic, she has taken it upon herself to do her part in eliminating this huge dump.
She has her own doggy bag that she takes to every meal. This practice prevents food waste and ensures she always has a lunch left over for the following afternoon. In addition, Shah tends to recycle these bits and pieces into other creations, flexing his culinary ingenuity while inspiring us to be more environmentally conscious. Her friends have really embraced this new initiative. Together, they’re forming an adorable mini-movement of their own, spreading the message of waste-reduction one box at a time.
Alongside her hands on efforts, Shah is spreading the word to friends and sharing her experiences over a corresponding group chat. Here, she shares recipes and creative ideas for making the most out of food you’ve cooked so you can enjoy scrumptious meals well into tomorrow. More importantly, this platform motivates her peers to work with her in the war on food waste. Together, they dig into their food and continue to create a positive impact.