Adam Smith FRSA – Surplus to Purpose
In this week’s episode we speak to Adam Smith, CEO of Surplus to Purpose.
Hear how an almost successful suicide attempt took Adam to Australia and opened his eyes to the global food waste problem, how he went about solving it, first with the worldwide Real Junk Food Project and now Surplus To Purpose; a pro-planet social enterprise.
You’ll also hear about the toxicity of the hospitality industry, why waste food is a environmental issue not a poverty issue, and how YOU can support it, and a key lesson on delegation.
INTRODUCING ADAM SMITH
Adam Smith is a founder and co-director of the multi-award-winning, global initiative: The Real Junk Food Project. Set up in December 2013, to revolutionise the disposal of avoidable food waste into landfill, the pioneering movement’s manifesto is to: feed bellies, not bins.
A professional chef for over ten years, Adam has held a wealth of head chef positions, internationally. Whilst in Australia, Adam witnessed the scale of food waste, agriculturally and within the catering industry. Upon his return to the UK, he was inspired to set up TRJFP.
In 2014,Adam was voted one of the 40 most influential men in the world by AskMen. The Telegraph voted Adam as one of the 50th most influential people in UK Food & Drink – Food & Drink Power List 2017.
In 2022, Adam was appointed as CEO of Surplus To Purpose, SToP, a revolutionary catering enterprise. Surplus to Purpose utilises food destined for waste, by safely redistributing this through cooked meals, products and provisions to families. It focuses on the environmental issues of food waste. His alias is Mr Junk Food Chef and his story is utterly inspiring.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:03:00] Suicide attempt leads to going to Australia
[00:06:45] The toxicity of the catering and hospitality industry
[00:10:00] The birth and growth of the Real Junk Food Project
[00:26:00] The implosion to the The Real Junk Food Project
[00:33:00] The launch of Surplus To Purpose
[00:46:00] How to delegate
KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
- You chose to take opportunities in business, or not
- Waste food is a environmental issue not a poverty issue
- We grow 6000 calories per person per day on the planet
- Delegation is the key to success
- ‘Aces in places’ – put your strongest people in the most important places
BEST MOMENTS
“I made a very serious attempt to take my own life and was pronounced dead at the scene”
“I would encourage everybody to learn how to cook, cook at home make mistakes and learn from them”
“Food waste is an environmental issue and poverty is a social issue. They are two separate things”
“I could write a book on how not to run a social enterprise”
“I’m here to stop waste, not to feed people”
“We’ve fed 20 million people around the world”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
Adam’s TedX Talk – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwCt_8pXb4
The original Guardian interview – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2014/mar/27/cafe-food-past-sell-by-date-video
Website: http://www.surplus2purpose.com/ https://mrjunkfoodchef.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-smith-frsa-069361162/
Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/surplus2purpose/
Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/Surplus2Purpose/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Surplus2Purpose/
Shout out tags: https://leedsdads.org/ https://www.slunglow.org/ https://www.thebiskery.com/
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ABOUT YOUR HOST
Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.
As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.
As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.
Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business subjects. You can view them all at https://philfraser.co.uk/watch-hear-phil/.
LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST
Pay as you feel, The Real Junk Food Project, Ted Talk, Leeds, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Nous of Fraser, Business Sounding Board, Business Coach, Business Mentor,
Email: phil@leedsbusinesspodcast.com
