Roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption globally is wasted. Food waste is generated at different stages of the food process – on the farm, by processors, by supermarkets and at home.
UK households threw away 6.4 million tonnes of food in 2021/2022, of which 4.7 million tonnes (almost three-quarters) could have been eaten.
Binning food is a huge waste of the precious materials and effort that went into bringing the food into your kitchen, from the soil, water and nutrients consumed to the resources used to produce, package, store and transport it. It is also an ethical issue given the increasing levels of food insecurity experienced by many across the country.
To mark Food Waste Action Week, Daphne from Greencuisine Trust shares a few friendly tips on how to minimise household food waste.
- Whizz up a soup with vegetables that are past their best. Serve with a dollop of pesto to make it extra tasty: nettle pesto in the spring; basil in the summer; and kale in the winter.
- Make use of your bananas. Turn the UK’s most wasted fruit into banana bread or peel, chunk and freeze them to use in smoothies (along with any other overripe fruit you have!).
- Eat the skin. Potato skins contain more nutrients than the actual potato and cucumber skin contains Vitamin K, which is essential for bone health and blood clotting.
- Use the leaves of vegetables like beetroot and cauliflower in salads and stir fries.
- Turn stale bread into breadcrumbs. Dry in the residual heat of the oven after cooking store when completely dry store in an airtight container.
- Too many herbs? Chop and pack into an ice cube tray, cover with oil or water and freeze, ready to pop out when you need them
- Be flexible with recipe ingredients. Substitute with what you have rather than buying more ingredients.
- Bulk cook meals and freeze in portions. This way you can defrost just the amount that you need.
- Store stems of vegetables in water to keep them fresher for longer. This works for celery and asparagus, for example.
- Bottle, dry, pickle, ferment. Learn to preserve and keep a well-stocked larder of homemade delights.
- Turn leftovers into a salad for lunch the next day – pasta salad or rice salad anyone?
- Use your senses! Remember that best before dates are a suggestion. Does it look good? Does it smell ok?
- If you have a garden, use coffee grounds as a plant fertiliser by sprinkling thinly on soil – they are high in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
- Start composting – there is a method and size to suit every household. Check out the Compost Club for tips: https://www.compostclub.online/compost-club
- Try to plan your meals ahead and buy just what you need. Don’t fall into the trap of bulk-buying to save money if you are going to struggle to use it.
- Freeze your leftovers if you don’t think you are going to eat them within two or three days.
- Master a couple of flexible go-to recipes to help you transform your leftovers into a new meal. See Greencuisine Trust’s recipes on a budget.
- Keep your fridge below 5°C so that food stays fresher for longer. Organising your fridge can also stop items going to waste: rotate your food so that the most recent additions go to the back and older items are at the front.
- Go gleaning: Gleaning Network – Fighting Food Waste Across the UK
- Share your food through local sharing apps like Olio: https://olioapp.com/en/
This blog was originally posted by Greencuisine Trust, and republished here with some edits. Find out more about Greencuisine Trust here: https://www.greencuisinetrust.org.