How can I reduce my food waste?

Food waste is a big problem in the UK. Wasting food also effectively means that you are wasting money, and we could all do with saving a bit at the moment. Below are a few ways in which you can get started reducing food waste.

Plan your meals

You don’t have to strictly plan every day, but planning enough meals for the week and purchasing only what you need is a great start to helping reduce food waste. I plan enough meals for the week and pick and choose from my menu what I fancy that day. This means you know exactly what you will need for the week when you go shopping. It also has the benefit of allowing you to plan healthy meals.

Write a list before you go shopping

Make sure you write a shopping list before you go shopping and stick to it. It is OK to deviate a bit, especially if you have forgotten to put things on the list, but don’t go nuts. Keep in mind that you should aim to eat everything you buy.

Buy only what food you need

Only buying what you need goes a great way to reducing your food waste and saving money. If you buy more than you need you can guarantee that the extra will just get thrown away.

If you come across those tempting 2 for 1 deals, see if you can share it with a friend or donate the free item to charity.

Supermarkets have this habit of putting all the fresh produce in bags instead of loose. Where possible choose the loose items and buy only what you need rather than a big pack, as the extra will go to waste.

Become friends with your freezer

Your freezer should become your best friend in your plight against food waste.

• Make too much food? – freeze it
• Food nearing it’s use by date? – freeze it

You will be surprised by what you can freeze. Did you know you can freeze bread?

A full freezer is also an efficient freezer – so get freezing!

Compost your food waste

With inevitable food waste such as vegetable peelings, fruit cores, tea bags and coffee grounds you can pop them in your compost bin and create your own free garden compost. Also if the unfortunate event of mouldy fruit and veg does occur in your plight of reducing food waste, then they can also have new life as compost.

Composting your food waste not only gives you free compost, but helps reduce the amount of methane produced from landfill, so double win!

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