For our March EcoChallenge, Woodlands People & Planet have come up with some helpful ways we can all reduce our food waste.
According to WRAP, about 70% of the food produced in Britain goes on to be wasted. This is a tragedy when in our city, let alone on the rest of our planet, a lot of people don’t have enough to eat. It’s also a problem as producing food often has a big environmental impact. As another incentive, WRAP also estimate that the average UK family could save up to £700 a year by reducing food waste.
So how can we reduce the amount of food we waste?
SHOP SMARTER
One way is shopping smarter. Plan meals ahead so you know what you want to cook for the week and only have to buy what you need. Be careful with special offers and buy-one-get-one free deals, they can be bargains but they can also trick you into buying things you don’t want. And keep an eye on use by dates before you buy things. Lots of vegetables don’t even make it to the shops because they are somewhat unusually shaped, a lot of greengrocers and supermarkets will now sell fruit and veg which is ‘wonky’ at a discount, these taste the same and are good value so look out for these.
STORE FOOD BETTER
Another way is to store food cleverly. Personally, I have found the most important thing to do is to try and keep some semblance of order in the fridge, rotating food so I use the oldest products first and also know if there are some things which need using soon. Often we can save most of an old vegetable by cutting the bad bit off, or celery or lettuce leaves can be reinvigorated by giving a soak in cold water. And if there is something which looks like it is going out of date before you can get to use it you can always pop it in the freezer.
GET CREATIVE
Finally, having some fruit or veg you know you need to use is a good excuse to try and get creative in the kitchen. When life gives you brown bananas make banana bread! For more tips check out this excellent BBC good food article here.
GET INVOLVED WITH PEOPLE + PLANET
If you’d be interested in finding out more about the Woodlands People + Planet group, or have some feedback about the challenges, connect with us: