Thousands of people gather in Trafalgar Square in London, England, to take advantage of a free lunch. (CBC)Thousands of people converged on Trafalgar Square in London, England, Wednesday for a free lunch made of donated food that would have otherwise been tossed in the trash.

Organizers collected the food — including misshapen apples, overgrown carrots and oddly coloured potatoes — from retailers who have trouble selling produce that is deemed to be either the wrong size or the wrong shape.

A team of volunteers used the donated food to create the free feast — which included fruit smoothies and vegetable curry.

“Reality is in nature, everything is different,” said Sarah Pettit, a farmer who attended the event. “So is the food that we grow, and we must appreciate that a wonky carrot is just as nutritious as a perfectly formed, shaped, sized carrot.

“It’s all healthy, nutritious, great, good for you food,” Pettit said.

Organizers said they hoped to feed 5,000 people with the donated food.

A group called Feeding the 5,000 planned the event in partnership with FareShare, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes excess food to almost 30,000 people a day.

The event also included cooking lessons from leading chefs such as Thomasina Miers, and organizers said they hoped the people who came for a free lunch also picked up some tips on how to avoid wasting food.