Running from 6 – 12 March, the Food Waste Action Week is led by WRAP’s food waste campaign Love Food Hate Waste.
Starting the week off, WRAP shared results of the campaign’s recent research which showed that reducing food waste could save householders time as well as money.
Survey
The Love Food Hate Waste survey highlighted that according to a poll of 2,000 adults, the nation dedicates five hours weekly on average to preparing and cooking food. However, 24% of respondents often feel their time is wasted when so much of it ends up in the bin.
Additionally, WRAP data suggests that a quarter of the food we cook ends up wasted because we prepare, cook or serve too much. The survey found that 80% of respondents feel guilty about throwing food away, with 66% of those responding saying they noticed their food bill go up considerably in recent months.
With food inflation running at 16%, WRAP continued, reducing food waste has financial as well as environmental benefits. WRAP estimates 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten is wasted every year from our homes, worth around £14 billion or £60 a month for an average family with children.
🎉 Let’s kick off #FoodWasteActionWeek and celebrate the little wins together!
With a bit of forward planning and a dash of savvy storage, you can make your food go further.
Win. Don’t Bin.
Take our quiz to find out how to save time and money 👇https://t.co/vTpXspDANm pic.twitter.com/6jn2kr0QSW
— Love Food Hate Waste (@LFHW_UK) March 6, 2023
Hacks
To help raise awareness, LFHW has teamed up with TV personality Jordan Banjo to share food-saving kitchen hacks. These included storing leftover portions safely as well as labelling and dating any leftovers in the freezer. The importance of defrosting safely, ensuring that the food is piping hot was also noted. To help save time, LFHW suggested cooking a little extra for next day’s lunch.
Mr Banjo said: “It’s probably fair to say that no-one enjoys throwing food away but luckily, it’s not difficult to re-purpose your uneaten food and get that little bit of life back to spend with your family doing something you love.”
Engagement
The campaign is also supported by resources and waste minister Rebecca Pow. Mrs Pow explained that the government is committed to halving food waste by 2030 and the simple steps we take at home can help make a difference.
Also taking part in Food Waste Action Week are local authorities and retailers across the country. For example, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said it will be linking the week to its ongoing food waste reduction campaign Buy Keep Eat Repeat. The authority outlined it will be sharing tips on food waste reduction and residents will be able to engage with the recycling team at two drop-in sessions.
It’s #FoodWasteActionWeek and we’re here to help make your food go further!
❄️Store your leftovers in the fridge or freezer so they can last as long as possible
More hacks➡️ https://t.co/RqGXBDXRfs pic.twitter.com/LsQnk5zogX
— Recycle for Greater Manchester (@recycle4gm) March 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Warwickshire has also shared a number of ‘good food habits’, which included keeping a track of what’s already in your fridge as well as setting a budget before going to the store. The council also suggested that residents join its Slim Your Bin campaign. This would see residents’ residual bin capacity reduced to encourage food waste reduction and recycling, with rewards to be earned.
WRAP has also encouraged engagement on social media, noting that last year’s campaign reached over 8 million people in the UK. According to WRAP, 55% of these said they did something about food waste as a result.
Support
While the details of the consistency in household recycling, which is set to mandate separate food waste collections are not yet known, WRAP is offering support to local authorities. The organisation said that to aid an effective introduction of food waste collection, it can help assess the options for the implementation of new services as well as communicate service changes.
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