There’s officially a day for having a disco and eating soup at the same time

Love soup? Love a boogie? Behold World Disco Soup Day!

WDSD participants in Rome — Image caption,
Yes, sir, I CAN boogie: participants at a Rome WDSD event

It’s the age old conundrum; are you going to spend your Saturday making soup or having a dance? It’s a tough choice.

Worry not, as there is officially a day you can do both. World Disco Soup Day takes place on April 30 2022, with people hosting events in more than 30 countries.

(WDSD) started nine years ago when a group of people in Berlin organised a ‘protest soup’ to highlight food waste. They fed 8,000 people with the fruits (and vegetables) of their labour. The idea caught on as other groups put on their own events before it became an official Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) event in Brazil 2016.

“This year we focus on a broader perspective: our main goal will be to raise awareness on the current climate crisis and how we can have a positive impact with our diets,” says Jorrit Kiewik, SFYN executive director. ”Food waste reduction and a (more) plant-based diet are two powerful tools to reduce our climate footprint.” The disco follows a month of online events teaching people to fight food waste by using often discarded "ugly vegetables", storing food better, preserving food with traditional fermentation methods and using up leftovers.

Slow Food Youth Network's global approach will see young people from Peru to the Philippines cha-cha-cha and chowder – whether at home with friends or as part of a larger public event. In Amsterdam participants will make 800 portions of soup for Ukrainian refugees who are staying locally. In Uganda the Disco Soup will be made with the help of local fishermen, combining rescued fruit and veg with discarded fish cuts.

Young people can stir up awareness of the cost of global food waste by making soup from edible produce that would otherwise be binned. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that and recommends "use it up" meals like soup as a way to fight household food waste.

Participants at WDSD in Cape Town eating food — Image caption,
At WDSD in Cape Town they go beyond soup with plates (!) of food dished up

So where does the disco part come into it? Well everyone – well most people – like an excuse to have a little dance, right? Whether that’s around the kitchen or at a club?! And the event even has its own Spotify playlist people can use, including food-themed hits like Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar, Ice Cream by Mika and Basil by Jeremy Loops. Though if you’re a superstar DJ, you’ll probably want to create your own.

Forget ‘eat, drink be merry’, it’s now ‘slurp, dance, tidy-up’.

Feeling inspired? We’re not best equipped to offer out dancing tips, though maybe our friends at ��̳ Strictly Come Dancing can. But we do have some excellent soup recipes that can use up all the bits and bobs lurking in your fridge:

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