Food delivery service Deliveroo has created what it claims is a bee-friendly picnic menu – complete with bread crusts that can be used to grow plants.

The platter contains three sandwiches (see below). If not eaten, the crusts of the sandwiches can be placed under a top layer of soil and, in about two days will begin to germinate, with a cress bush visible in a few weeks.

The sandwiches are:

  • The Ruben: pickles, sauerkraut, cheese, mustard, and mayo
  • The Coronation: chickpea, curry powder, lime, coriander and mango chutney
  • The Harissa: roasted red pepper, harissa, labneh and parsley

Food scientists at Deliveroo have also created the Beerito – a burrito claimed to guarantee a bee-free picnic.

The black and yellow burrito consists of a turmeric and charcoal tortilla filled with cream cheese, roasted courgette and aubergine. It also features a bee-repellent salsa verde, made using precise measurements of garlic, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, mint, vinegar and cucumber peel, which Deliveroo claimed have bee-repelling properties.

Created for National Picnic Week, which runs from 18-24 June, the menu is available at parks across London this weekend. Deliveroo riders will also be collecting donations for the Bumblebee Trust and The Woodland Trust.

“We’re all a-buzz at Deliveroo about these wonderful concoctions,” said Joe Groves at Deliveroo. “The warm weather has led to a huge surge in the number of orders we’re delivering to parks and we know our customers are charitable, conscious consumers who will support the message behind these amazing picnic treats.”

Deliveroo added that the dishes have been developed in response to recent studies, which revealed the UK bee population has dropped by 75% and a total of 113,792 trees have been felled by councils since 2015.