Rossella's Story

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 There’s something about food and Italians: nutrition is a big part of our culture, our social life, our parenting — and, occasionally, our identity. While the Mediterranean diet is widely praised, the reality is that many of us still eat far too much meat and a lot of imported food, with a carbon footprint that doesn’t quite fit the romantic narrative. Add to the mix the experience of being expats or immigrants (depending on how you look at it), and the reliance on ultra-processed foods in the host country — Britain, in our case, never shy about taking food, resources, and flavours from elsewhere — and you obtain a recipe of disconnect from Mother Earth.

When my eldest daughter was seven, she decided to become vegetarian. She’s now 19, and although she has since returned to an omnivorous diet, that small act of rebellion had a lasting effect. It pushed the whole family to rethink what we ate and to shift towards nutritious, plant-based meals as our everyday norm. Our diet is still mainly vegetarian, often vegan. We try to buy seasonal produce, and I’ve developed the slightly obsessive habit of checking the origin of almost everything I buy, avoiding long-distance travel whenever possible. Simply put, I don’t think strawberries in January are essential — although frozen berries are, admittedly, essential for feeding my kombucha.

We mostly buy basic ingredients and avoid ultra-processed foods. This does take more time, and I’m very aware that not everybody has that luxury… although one could argue that we might all find a bit more time if we marginally reduced our TikTok and Netflix intake.

 A couple of years ago, I discovered the Olio app, and since then I’ve been rescuing food near its expiry or best-before date from supermarkets through the Olio volunteer network. That includes a lot of bread and vegetables, which means I’ve hardly bought any bread in the last two years and very little salad — a small but satisfying personal achievement. It also means rescuing the occasional ultra-processed item and far too many tempting sweet things, so it’s a constant exercise in finding a reasonable balance between eating well and not letting perfectly good food go to waste.

I’ve also always loved foraging, and now I have regular “appointments” with Mother Earth in the local area. In autumn we enjoy apples and chestnuts; in winter, rosehips; in spring, nettles and elderflowers; and in summer, berries and wild greens. It’s slightly heartbreaking to walk through local parks and see fruit rotting on the ground, ignored. It’s edible, nutritious, local, sustainable food and it's free. And yet we walk past it on our way to the supermarket.