4 December 2025 Podcast

Don’t Waste This: Cheese sandwiches in The Netherlands

About this episode

In the Netherlands, bread is a daily staple, filling lunchboxes from boardrooms to classrooms. But it’s also one of the country’s most wasted foods - every day, around 700,000 loaves of bread are baked but never eaten.

WRAP’s Talya Shalev speaks with Jip Jordaan from Samen Tegen Voedselverspilling (Food Waste Free United) to unpack the story behind the Dutch lunchbox sandwich and hidden cost of taking food for granted. Jip explores why behavioural change is just as crucial as system change to reduce bread waste, how global instability is affecting rising wheat prices, and why restoring the value of food is essential to protecting the Netherlands’ humble lunch culture.

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Have thoughts or questions about food waste? Share your insights with us on X or LinkedIn tagging WRAP and using #DontWasteThis