Love Food Hate Waste campaign

Competition over

Please note that this competition has now finished.  Thanks to all those who took part.  See the recipes that the winners helped cook-up on the 28th November 2009 at Bordeaux Quay, in the "Related Documents" at the foot of this page - some innovative ways of using leftovers!

Please continue to reduce your food waste - useful hints and tips are available at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

 

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Why food waste is important

Every year we throw away £4 billion worth of food because we cook or prepare too much. This amounts to 6.7 million tonnes, and most of this is food that could have been eaten! Each month, the average family throws away £50 worth of food that was bought but not eaten. Simply by not wasting food you could save up to £600 a year.

Did you know?

Every day we throw away:

• 5 million potatoes

• 7 million slices of bread

• 1.3 million yoghurts and yoghurt drinks

When we waste food, we also waste the energy, water and packaging involved in producing, transporting and storing the food. What's more, food that gets sent to landfill contributes to climate change as it creates methane gas when it rots down!

The good news is that with a bit of thought we can stop most of this waste from going to landfill and save ourselves up to £50 a month by following some simple steps:

1. Find out more

For more detailed information about food waste and how you can reduce it visit the Love Food Hate Waste website 

2. Cook the right amount

Many of us waste food by overestimating what we need when buying and cooking food. Find out how to cook just what you need by using the Love Food Hate Waste portion planner - simply type in the name of the food you’d like to measure.

3. Plan ahead

Plan your meals and take a shopping list with you so that you only buy the food you will eat. Beware of ‘buy one get one free’ offers and only buy them if you know you will use or freeze the extra one.

4. Use your leftovers

Any leftovers can be made into great new meals or why not take them for your lunch the following day? For great ideas and recipes for what to do with all sorts of leftovers go to Love Food Hate Waste. Simply type in the food you have left over and choose the recipe to suit you.

5. Store food carefully

Keeping your fridge temperature between 1 and 5 degrees C will help keep things for longer. Store items such as fruit in the fridge to make them last.

Don’t forget to use your freezer! There are plenty of things that you can keep in your freezer including many things you may not have realised.

It’s also worth keeping a stock of staple, long lasting foods such as rice, to help you cook up any left over food without having to take an extra trip to the shops!

To find out more about the ways you can store your food go to Love Food Hate Waste.

6. Know your food labels

The most important food label to follow is the ‘Use by’ one. Food which reaches its sell by date can still be eaten but may be past its ‘Best before’ date – the exception to this are eggs which should not be eaten after this date. For more information on food labelling, please go to Love Food Hate Waste.

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Find out about our food waste diary competition

During September and October we will be working with Bath and Nort East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils to help you find out how to reduce your food waste and win some great prizes.

To enter all you need to do is keep a food waste diary for a week.  Keeping a food waste diary can help us find out more about the kinds of food we waste at home (even when we don't think we waste anything).

First prize (one first prize for each authority area)

A cookery course worth £140, for you and a friend donated by the award winning eco restaurant Bordeaux Quay and based at their restaurant in Bristol (including travel) on Saturday 28^th November

View Bordeaux Quay's chef Mike Merelie in the following video demonstrations:
Demonstration using leftovers - Spaghetti with potatoes, beans and pesto
Demonstration using leftovers - Panzanella

5 Runners up prizes (five runners up prizes for each authority area)
 

A food waste reduction pack worth £25 donated by Lakeland including spaghetti measure, Lock & Lock food containers, Avocado Saver, Clip-Its and freezer labels.

Each person who complete a food waste diary will receive a FREE recipe book – Eat Well, Waste Less by Bish Muir. The book gives practical ideas to reduce food waste and make food go further. It includes:

• Planning your shopping

• Basic ingredients for the store cupboard

• Advice on ‘Sell by’ and ‘Use by’ dates

• An A-Z of leftover ingredients and how to use them up

• Quick and easy recipes

• Basic recipes which can be adapted for different ingredients

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