I think street food is brilliant. It’s the most incredible way of experiencing different cultures and broadening your horizons through your stomach. I love to support small independent business, but what’s not so great is all the packaging and cutlery waste that often goes with it.
Looking to address this, London street food giants Kerb started a trial called Pact Lunch in March 2019 to allow people to use their own lunchboxes at Kerb’s Kings’ Cross market. In exchange for bringing in their own boxes, Kerb traders would give customers 50p off their lunch. Coffee chains do it, so why shouldn’t street food vendors?
‘Instead of seeking alternative materials to plastic, what’s smarter is actually to just change our behaviour.’
Petra Barran, Founder and Creative Director of Kerb
For the Easter bank holiday weekend, Kerb were hosting their annual Inkerbator Weekender where they pit Kerb vendors of the past, present and future, against the public and a judging panel to determine the best new trader.
Having checked with Kerb first, we brought along our lunch boxes to see if we could support this brilliant Pact Lunch movement. I opted for a Mauritian lamb biryani from Lovely Bunch of Coconuts (first photo)* and my wife Kirstin went for a Smokey lamb barbacoa box from 2018-graduates MexiKings. Both stalls, although initially a little surprised, were happy to fill our tupperware, which given that we also brought our own reusable bamboo cutlery, meant that nothing from our lunch went in the bin.
‘I loved seeing Dan and his wife rock up to the Southbank on Monday of their own volition, Tupperware in tow, ready to take part in the Pact, it’s exciting. I love the thought that we are all starting to catch on to how simple shifts in our awareness can create huge changes. A bit less blind pursuit of convenience and a bit more taking care of business on a collective basis is the future – we’re pumped!’
Petra Barran, Founder and Creative Director of Kerb
It’s not just food that they’re moving in the right direction with though, the bars at the Inkerbator Weekender had reusable cups for beers and cocktails. On the left is a Bankside Blossom with East London Liquor Company gin, yuzu sake, sugar syrup and soda, and on the right is a Kerb’groni with gin, triple sec and cynar. Both were more delicious and refreshing than they even sound, and tasted all the better knowing that the cups would be used again.
As of 26 April 2019 Kerb are rolling this idea out across all of their markets in London which is brilliant news. Find out more about the project on their website or on the graphic below.
Hopefully it won’t be long until all of this is more commonplace at street food markets across not just London, but the UK as it’s a small change that can make a big difference.
*Kerb provided my lunch for free in exchange for a photo of our lunches.