Irish throw away 2bn meals every year

More than 1m tonnes of food is wasted in Ireland every year, according to RTÉ’s flagship farming show.

Ear to the Ground has revealed how the equivalent of more than 2bn meals, or roughly €1bn worth of food, is thrown out.

The show reveals how a new supermarket-style charity called Bia Food — the brainchild of Vincent De Paul volunteer Brendan Dempsey — has been set up in Cork to take in unwanted food from businesses to redistribute to charities such as homeless hostels.