In Britain, the food waste facts are shocking:
- Almost 50% of all the food thrown out in Britain comes from our homes
- We throw away an estimated 7 million tonnes of food each year
- More than half of the food we throw out is perfectly fine for human consumption
Not only is the amount we throw out cause for alarm, but so is the amount of money we lose by doing it:
- Unnecessary food waste costs each household on average £470 a year
- This equates to £60 a month lost on bad food waste habits
If these stats are a wakeup call, you might be wondering how you can go about reducing your food waste and saving some cash. Well, here’s three top things you could be doing to prevent losing any more of your heard earned money…
Consider what you throw out
Try writing down everything you throw out for at least two weeks. If you find you throw out the same things week in, week out it might be time to change your shopping and storing habits. For instance, if you’re throwing out almost all your loaf of bread each week, consider freezing all but what you need. This way it will last longer and you’ll save valuable money by not buying any more until you really, truly need it.
Plan your meals
Setting up a regular meal plan might seem like a lot of extra hassle, but it’s worth it in the end. Before you rush to the shops to pick up your latest bits, have a rummage through your cupboards to see if you have anything leftover in your fridge or hiding in the back of your cupboards. Doing this is a great way to make sure you don’t buy things you don’t really need, and you save your pennies in the process.
Become a savvy cook
Learning new recipes in the kitchen is another great way to save money and cut down on the amount of food waste your household produces. There’s a million and one things you can do with your leftovers – sandwiches, soups, stews. The possibilities don’t have to begin and end with ‘s’ though, pies, pasta bakes and risottos can all be made with leftover meat and veg too, too, along with a whole host of other delicious dishes.
