Food Waste – Keep Crushing it

Reducing food waste is one of the most effective things any individual or household can do to reduce their impact on the environment and help tackle climate change.

Lockdown due to Covid-19 highlighted just how important food is. During those difficult weeks household food waste in the UK reduced dramatically, in fact it hit an all time low.

A combination of factors were responsible for the reduction, including; the perceived threat of food scarcity, difficulties in reaching food shops, financial instability, and an increase in the amount of time spent in the household giving more people opportunity to practice a range of food waste prevention behaviours, but particularly:

• Freezing foods before they go out of date.
• Bulk cooking
• Using up surplus food (leftovers) in inventive ways
• Checking the contents of food storage areas before going shopping

As lockdown eases in many parts of the UK there is a real risk that we will return to our former wasteful ways. However, the threat of climate change has not gone away and as we establish the much talked about “new normal” we have an opportunity to take some of the food waste prevention lessons (hard) learned into the future.

Lockdown has shown that we are capable of cherishing our food and making the most of whats available to us, and Love Food Hate Waste (the food waste prevention charity) are asking everyone to “Keep Crushing It” this summer. To get involved visit: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

These resources are particularly helpful:

• An A-Z of food storage
• Check your fridge temperature
• Find a recipe to use up specific items of food
• A portion planner