Eating out means shelling out money, whether it is for a fine dining experience or a takeaway. But would you ever eat at a place that serves you food "free of cost" from 'rubbish'- literally?
Maximus Thaler, a student of the Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, is the man behind this unique concept. The Gleaners' Kitchen will turn waste into wealth by making fresh, wholesome meals from food that others think is "garbage". The meals will be delivered free of cost. They will also cater to large gatherings in the Boston area.
Currently, Gleaners' Kitchen does not have a location. Thaler visualizes a small café that will be a cultural hub and cater to everybody's hunger pangs free of cost. With donations and contributions they have managed to secure a place in Powderhouse Circle, from where they will start operating from May.
Apparently, the folks at this not-for-profit kitchen determine their menu by whatever they find in rubbish bins and dumpsters, nearby. While you might think it unhealthy and unhygienic, the guys at Gleaners' have given a detailed "food break" on what kind of stuff they find in the dumpster and how they use it. The food-recycling restaurant gives a very lengthy description about how half of the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away on their website as well.
All the food found in the bins is inspected and washed and then used to cook up nutritious meals. Donations from grocery stores, independent organizations and homes are also included. They have already experimented cooking with the ingredients found in the garbage.
The Gleaners' Kitchen Philosophy reads:
"We imagine a cafe, decorated with dumpstered flowers and cheap art, where people hungry for a different world can come and exchange ideas. There will always be coffee and tea and warm lentil soup. Meals will be served every day at 6:00 pm, with special events on the weekends. We imagine concerts, poetry readings, academic lectures and craftivist workshops, all facilitated by the preposterous amounts of free food our society has somehow forgotten. Art will be everywhere. It will be shared as freely as the food. No one will leave The Gleaners' Kitchen without a bit of cardboard in their pockets and a bag of vegetables for their table at home."
Check out an interesting video below, where Thaler and his team give us a peek into their unusual restaurant idea.
