Reduce the amount of food you waste

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign provides practical tips to cut down on the amount of good food thrown away. In the UK we throw away 7.0 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, more than half of this could have been eaten! Wasting food costs the average family with children nearly £700 a year, the equivalent of around £60 a month.

The foods we waste the most are fresh vegetables, salad, fresh fruit and bakery items such as bread and cakes.

As we all try to save money on energy bills and rising food prices it makes sense not to throw good food away, Love Food Haste Waste really can help to save money, not to mention helping the environment. Just think of all the water energy and packaging along with the food that’s wasted! A fifth of what we buy ends up as waste, and around 60% of that could have been eaten.

There are two main reasons we throw away good food:

1. we cook and prepare too much food
2. we don’t use food in time.

Try to avoid leftovers by cooking the exact amount you need by using a tried and tested measuring device that works for you or the Love Food Hate Waste portion planner. Any leftovers can be made into great new meals that are delicious and time-saving, for lovely tasting recipes check out the Love Food Hate Waste website for handy tips and information.

Have a quick check in the fridge every day and plan meals around food that needs to be used up first. Check ‘use by’ dates and see if the product can be frozen if it cannot be eaten in time. Keep your fridge between 0-5 ºC to keep food fresh. Check the fridge and make a shopping list before you go shopping to avoid impulse buys and only buy multi-buys if you are going to use them.