Love food, hate waste

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.