Out the back of the Lentil As Anything Thornbury restaurant, you can pick up produce for dinner and pay whatever you like. Vegan supermarket, The Inconvenience Store, works on founder Shanaka Fernando’s via volunteering or donation, leaving patrons to ‘pay as you feel’ for goods.
“Lentil As Anything’s message is ‘everyone deserves a place at the table’ and on the strength of this we choose to make contribution for food by either volunteering or anonymous donation,” communications and public relations manager, Jessica Tana tells SBS. “We attract people from all walks of life – those who enjoy the idea, and those who can’t get the same quality of food at a price they can afford.”
The store gives access to healthy food choices to everyone and anyone, whether they can afford to pay or not. Source: The Inconvenience Store
Rescuing unsold goods
The Inconvenience Store is stocked with produce sourced by food rescue team . The team collect otherwise unsold food from supermarket giant Aldi, and small grocers, charities and bakeries, including . Farmer’s markets like are another valued source for donations.
We attract people from all walks of life – those who enjoy the idea, and those who can’t get the same quality of food at a price they can afford.
The rescued food is used in Lentil As Anything restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and remaining food is now used to stock the shelves at The Inconvenience Store. The store sells a range of fruit, vegetables, bread and house-made pickles and preserves.
“For people passionate about the environment and reducing food waste, shopping at The Inconvenience Store will be an act of social activism,” says project coordinator, Astrid Ryan. “We are inviting the community to shop consciously and be part of the solution.”
Food waste is a mountain of a problem
The “problem” that the organisation is attempting to address is that of food wastage. A report found that the city produces over 907,537 tonnes of edible food waste, and 2.5 million tonnes of GHG emissions were emitted in the production of the wasted food.
“Every food item taken home is one less methane producing addition to landfill,” says Ryan. Tana adds: “By running the store we are trying to halt the flow of good food being thrown away and change the attitudes behind food security with the general public."
We are inviting the community to shop consciously and be part of the solution.
Any member of the community is invited to drop off their excess food – a practise that must result in some awkward moments. The organisation’s website states that they cannot accept things like “cracked or broken eggs” or “food with visible mould”, statements most likely born from real-life attempts at offloading the back contents of the fridge.
The store has an abundance of fruit and vegetables that would otherwise have been become landfill. Source: The Inconvenience Store
Pay with time, not cash
The Inconvenience Store has no fixed prices. Instead, patrons are asked to pay whatever they can afford to keep the store running. Funds received go towards electricity costs and food transportation and storage. Customers can also choose to pay for their goods by volunteering in the store.
Apart from being a welcome way to “purchase” food when you have little or no money, volunteering in the business also provides work experience for underemployed, homeless or otherwise disenfranchised community members. Like the Lentil As Anything restaurants, The Inconvenience Store also runs a volunteer intern program, taking on interns across all aspects of business administration and promotion. Interns are asked to commit at least eight hours a week for three months and in exchange are given the opportunity to receive mentoring, work experience and feedback.
Volunteering in the business provides work experience for underemployed, homeless or otherwise disenfranchised community members.
“Our team of volunteers are what make the store possible,” Tana says. “They are the backbone behind every operation.”
Volunteers ensure that shopping is a pleasant, straightforward experience. Source: The Inconvenience Store
Social credit, not fiscal credit
At its heart, The Inconvenience Store closes the circle of Shanaka Fernando’s anti-business enterprise. Food Without Borders collects excess food, Lentil As Anything prepares and serves the food in its restaurants and The Inconvenience Store stocks whatever food the restaurants can’t use. Fernando has often been quoted in media as saying he operates his businesses on “social credit, not fiscal credit.”
“Customers say they come to the store because they care about food waste in Australia,” says Tana. “Others say they are able to purchase luxury items such as coconut water and tomato paste which they couldn’t normally afford. Most simply want to support the initiative.”
