20 Dec How to Reduce your Food Waste this Festive Season
Opening presents on Christmas morning is lovely, and watching joyful festive movies is pleasant, but we all know the best thing about this magical day is the food! However, according to some studies, wasted food is responsible for approximately 7% of our global greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the Christmas season is known to be one of the most wasteful times of year with around 7 million tons of food wasted! Not only this, but did you know that in the UK, studies show we lose around £4.3 billion per year from wasting food! The team at Indaver want to show you how you can reduce your food waste this festive season.
Don’t Overbuy
Whilst it’s important to buy enough to feed the whole family at Christmas, you shouldn’t overbuy as this only results in wasted money and food. To avoid purchasing unnecessary excess food, you should prepare a meal plan for this winter holiday, including main meals and those special Christmas extra nibbles. Hopefully, you know in advance how many people you’re expecting to host, meaning you can also plan for the size of portions.
Did you know, according to consumer psychologists, if you use a basket instead of a trolley at the supermarket, you’re much less likely to purchase more than you need! However, if you do find yourself with more food than required, that doesn’t mean you have to cook it all. It may feel unruly to have anything but a turkey on Christmas Day, but preparing a whole bird for a small family could lead to preventable waste. Why not buy a turkey crown instead? After all, this means you can still have turkey on the big day!
Avoid Tempting Special Offers
In the UK, around 40% of groceries are sold on promotion. Whilst these discounted prices may seem cost-saving, buying excess food because it’s on offer is more likely to result in food waste. To avoid this, you should write a shopping list from your meal plan and try to only buy products that you have noted. If you do decide to buy a few reduced items that are soon to go out of date, then you should try to freeze them so that they last longer. Shockingly, studies show only 16% of British people do this, but it can help to reduce wasted food and means that you’ve found yourself a bargain!
Freeze Leftovers
As mentioned previously, Christmas leftovers such as turkey, gammon and stuffing, can be frozen to enjoy at a later date. Luckily, we have a few helpful tips for you! If you freeze food when it’s fresher, then it will taste better when you bring it out to use it, so be sure to prepare it for freezing as soon as possible. You should also ensure that the food is wrapped well to avoid the risk of freezer burn, which can make your cooking taste less delicious.
Don’t forget to maximise the space in your freezer by using bags instead of food storage boxes. If you fill sealable or zip lock freezer bags and remove any excess air in them, then you can lay them flat on top of each other in the freezer. Remember to label each container with the date and its’ contents so that you can keep track of your food and ensure nothing is forgotten!
Donate to Others
With food banks in huge demand over the festive season, it has never been a more important time to donate to the vulnerable. Whilst fresh food can’t be accepted, you can gift biscuits, tinned vegetables, cans of soup and cereal boxes. Alternatively, why not donate to a friendly neighbour? You can give anything you will not eat to spread some kindness within your local community this festive period, whilst trying to act more sustainably. If you know of somebody spending Christmas alone, why not drop off your leftovers and keep them company on this special day with a cuppa?
Recycle Food Waste
Recycling your wasted food is easy; simply put your leftovers into a food waste caddy in your kitchen. This can then be emptied into your compost bin or council food waste bin. At home, you can compost vegetables, eggshells and tea bags, but meat and fish should not go in your compost.
Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter into valuable fertiliser that can be used to enrich the soil for growing plants. Anything that naturally decomposes is sped up by the process as it provides the ideal environment for the organisms to function. Composting provides a range of advantages, including improved soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water as well as the recycling of nutrients.
Contact Us
Do you want to find out more information about how you can reduce your food waste this holiday season? Then please get in touch! Email us at info@rivenhall-iwmf.co.uk.
