In the United Kingdom alone, 8.4 million people are struggling to afford to eat. At the same time, 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted by the food industry every year.
What’s even more shocking to know is that 250,000 tonnes of the food that goes to waste each year is still edible, enough for 650 million meals. That’s 10 meals for every citizen of the UK! Simply put, we waste far too much of our food, and something needs to be done to both help protect the environment and to save money.
Below, we’ve rounded up tips to help you get started.
Avoid special offers
Supermarkets and convenience stores price their products strategically and run promotions like buy-one-get-one-free to encourage us to fill our baskets and buy more than we need.
If you’re serious about cutting down on food waste, stop yourself from falling for these offers and only buy what’s on your shopping list. You’ll not only save money, but you’ll waste less food as you won’t be tempted by those unhealthy, sugary snacks like doughnuts and bread.
Have essentials delivered
If you find that you’re buying essentials like milk, bread, and butter in bulk and throwing most of it away due to short shelf-life, you might want to consider the possibility of having items delivered from local businesses, instead. Not only will the quality be much better than food from the supermarket, but you’ll be supporting your community and you can choose the frequency of your deliveries. For example, Kerr’s Dairy offers milk delivery in Aberdeen, so consumers can enjoy fresh, locally-produced milk, and only get the exact quantity they need.
Make friends with your freezer
Your freezer is your best friend. Rather than throwing away surplus food or leftovers when you cook a delicious meal, pop it in the freezer to use at a later date. Some foods like meat need to be stored with particular care – we recommend Googling before you freeze food to ensure it’s safe to sit for an extended period. You can also buy labels so you know what you freeze and when you freeze it. That way, you can go back and add leftovers to your meals.
Plan your meals
One of the reasons why many of us waste food nowadays is because of our hectic lifestyles, and our inability to properly plan ahead. It’s easy to think “ah, why not?” and order a takeaway after a stressful day at work, and though that’s fine, it could mean that minced beef in your fridge will go out of date and need to be thrown away. Plan your meals in advance – that way, you’ll know exactly what you need to buy from the supermarket, with less waste.
Which of these tips did you find the most useful? Let us know and share your own food waste stories in the comments below, and we’ll see you here soon for more anti-waste tips.