Households in the UK throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink every year. The average family could save £700 a year or £60 a month by making some quick and easy changes to how they manage food.
Not only is wasting food and drink a waste of money, but it is also an unnecessary waste of energy and natural resources which go into its production. By reducing the amount of food and drink wasted, 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved, the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.
Visit the Love Food Hate Waste website to learn more about how you can reduce food waste, save money and help the environment. The website offers meal-planning tips and recipes, ideas on how to use leftovers and information on how to store your food so it stays fresher for longer.
Food waste apps
Reducing food waste is a priority of many households and organisations. As a result, there are now many food waste apps where you can find perfectly good food that would otherwise be put in the bin, at a much lower cost or sometimes for free.
Too Good To Go
Launched in 2016, this free app tackles food waste by making surplus, unsold food from supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and independent food retailers available to consumers at heavily discounted prices. The app lets you find participating venues by:
- name
- location
- time of day
The food comes in a lucky dip 'magic bag.' Each bag costs a third of the retail price. Too Good To Go is used by 6.6 million users in the UK.
Download the Too Good To Go app on App store
Download the Too Good To Go app on Google Play store
Olio
Olio is the world's largest food sharing network. It connects neighbours with each other and a network of volunteers with local businesses so that surplus food is given and not thrown away.
You can take pictures of your items and add them to the listings. Neighbours then receive customised alerts and can request anything they need, with pick-up arranged through private messaging. This app is free.
Download Olio on Google Play store
Kitche
This free app tackles food waste in the home by helping you keep track of what you've bought and plan meals accordingly. Scan your receipts or upload online receipts stored on your phone. The app then taps into its recipe bank to plan meals based on the food you have, alerting you to items near their use-by dates.
Download Kitch on Google Play store
It’s Out of Date
We are supporting WRAP’s Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date.
Throwing out food is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. When we waste food, it’s not just the food we’re wasting, it’s the resources it takes to produce it – like water and the land that could have been cleared to create the space to grow it, too. With a massive 25-30% of global greenhouse gases coming from the food system alone, it’s safe to say that we need to do something about it and be more eco-friendly. In the UK, 9.5 million tonnes of food are wasted every year; 70% of this comes from our homes. Of that, 4.5 million tonnes could have been eaten.
Find out more about It's Out of Date and get started taking action.