Festive food tips to cut down your waste

Every year in the UK, approximately seven million tonnes of food is wasted and, just during Christmas, two million turkeys, five million Christmas puddings and 74 million mince pies get thrown out, even though they are still edible.

With Christmas food bills averaging between £100 - 300 per household, and over a third of us admitting to throwing away more food at Christmas than at any other time of the year, we can all play our part to cut down our waste in an effort to help the environment and our wallets.

Wasting food contributes to climate change. When we waste food, we’re wasting the resources it takes to produce it and the hours it takes to make it and transport it.

Here are some ideas to help you cut down your food waste this Christmas and help the environment.

• Plan for the correct number of people you are cooking for, so that you don’t over shop.
• Buy seasonal, fresh, local fruit and vegetables.
• Visit your local butcher or farm to pre-order local meat – they can also advise on the size you will need for the number of people you are cooking for.
• Try drying apples, oranges or cranberries for a healthy snack to have over the festive break or in the new year.
• Buy loose fruit and vegetables from your local greengrocers and only buy what you need, rather than buying pre-packaged food that you may not use.
• Eat up and use up your leftovers. Check out the Love Food Hate Waste website for great ideas on how to use up your food leftovers this Christmas. We love the look of this bubble and squeak recipe to use up your sprouts and leftovers roast potatoes.
• Remember to store your food correctly to help it last as long as possible. The Love Food Hate Waste website has useful guide on how to store different food.
• If you have edible leftover food that you can’t eat or store, donate it to a local food bank or list it on a food sharing app such as Olio.
• Recycle what you can’t eat either in a home compost or in your food waste bin.

A local initiative that is helping to cut down food waste is The Very Green Grocery in Northwich and Winsford, a not-for-profit organisation run by Changing Lives Together which aims to prevent food waste by offering surplus stock from supermarket and farmers, to local residents. The food on offer is still fresh, edible and 100 per cent delicious. The team supports residents of Winsford, Northwich and the surrounding areas by offering essential fresh food and dietary staples, drinks, and so much more for a very reasonable £5 per bag.

In Ellesmere Port, The Port Grocery, another not-for-profit organisation, offer a similar service.

Information sources

WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme)

Love Food Hate Waste

Olio

Changing Lives Together

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