April 27 is Stop Food Waste Day, a world-wide call to action to save food from the bin! To mark this day, here’s some tips and tricks for how you can reduce the amount of food you throw away.
Did you know that around a third of food produced globally goes to waste? This is seriously bad news for the planet as the food we waste at home produces almost 25 million tonnes of CO2 each year.
What’s more, throwing away food that could have been eaten costs us lots of money – reducing our food waste can save us £60 a month on average!
Reducing food waste at home
The average UK family wastes eight meals every week. We need to save food from the bin by changing the way we buy, store, and use it.
We’ve all been in the position where we’ve left something in the fridge, forgotten about it, then found it weeks later in an unappetising state and had no choice but to chuck it.
So, what can we do to stop this happening?
This year Love Food Hate Waste highlighted the 'unsung heroes' of the kitchen: the fridge, freezer, and microwave. Its website offers helpful suggestions on how to store and defrost food to make it last longer, so you don’t have to chuck it.
It also features some tasty recipes to help you use up leftovers and the perishables that are often left at the back of the fridge.
Reducing food waste when eating out
When eating out there are also opportunities to reduce food waste.
If you don’t want something in a meal you could ask for it not to be added instead of just leaving it to the side of your plate to be then thrown in the bin.
Don’t be shy to ask for a takeaway box to take home leftovers – this will save you money on lunch the next day!
Reducing food waste at Sarah’s Coffee Shop
At Sarah’s Coffee Shop, we use the Too Good To Go app which helps us to cut down on our food waste.
The Too Good To Go app lets you as customers buy ‘Magic Bags’ of food that haven’t sold by the end of the day at a discounted price. It’s a great way to stop unnecessary waste, save money and treat yourself!
When you purchase a Magic Bag from Sarah’s Coffee shop, it will be filled with sustenance-to-go such as salads, pastries, sandwiches, or cakes. Remember, the contents of your Magic Bag depend on what didn’t sell that day, so it’s a surprise until you pick it up!
We can work together to stop food waste. Just search for Sarah’s Coffee shop on the Too Good To Go app and check when we have Magic Bags available for picking up at the end of the day.
For more ideas on how to reduce food waste and for some delicious recipes to use up those leftovers, go to the Stop Food Waste Day website.