Casula
Food is an important and an essential part of life, but a lot of NSW households probably buy a lot more food than they actually eat.
A shocking NSW statistic shows that an average of 800,000 tonnes of leftover food gets wasted each year. This wasted food ends up adding to landfills when in a lot of cases it could have been eaten if it was stored correctly or eaten before going bad.
Wasting food not only effects the environment though, it’s also bad on the hip pocket. It is estimated that more than $2.5 billion worth of edible food is thrown away by NSW households every year!
The NSW government is trying to cut down on the amount of wasted food though, by spreading the Love Food Hate Waste message.
To get on the Love Food Hate Waste bandwagon, there are a few simple things we can all do around the home that can help contribute to less food wastage.
The most obvious is only buying food that you intend to eat. This is trickier to do then it sounds though, as sometimes we buy food with every intention of eating it, only to end up throwing it out.
To help prevent this problem it helps to make meal plans and shopping lists, so we only buy things we know we will eat. Trying to eat all your food before you go shopping can also help reduce wastage.
Educating yourself about food is another way to help reduce waste. If you have set recipes in mind, and know how long you have to use your food, then you can utilise more of your food items.
Another tip is to improve the way that you store food. If you can make each of your food items last longer, then there is less chance that they will end up as waste. So buy containers to save things in, and keep food items in the fridge or freezer if it will help them last longer.
There are heaps more great tips about planning, preparing and storing your food to help reduce waste at the Love Food Hate Waste website. Check them out and do your bit to help cut down on unnecessary food waste.