Spending more, buying less and buying British - top tips for reducing food waste

A call to buy British and cut down on waste (photo: Unsplash)A call to buy British and cut down on waste (photo: Unsplash)
A call to buy British and cut down on waste (photo: Unsplash)

How to save more and waste less

A total of 26,082 tonnes per day. This equates to 1.96kg of food per household, per day. Eight meals per household per week.

Sounds like a feast fit for a small nation? Well that's the shocking average amount of food that we throw away every day in the UK.

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But it doesn’t have to be that way, says Hannah Anderson, food industry expert and managing director of ethical online food retailer 44 Foods.

Hannah Anderson urges us to waste less foodHannah Anderson urges us to waste less food
Hannah Anderson urges us to waste less food

While major food retailers have a big part to play, there’s plenty that we as consumers can do to reduce how much we throw away.

Here, Hannah, who has worked in the food buying industry for more than 20 years shares her top tips for reducing food waste, and saving some much needed cash in the process.

Spending more, buying less

She said: “As a consumer, shopping more mindfully is one of the biggest ways to reduce food waste. Part of that is spending more and buying less.

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"With the cost of living on the rise, that might seem counterproductive, but spending slightly more on quality products and buying only what you need to buy can actually save you money in the long-run as you won’t be throwing as much of your hard earned cash straight into the bin at the end of every week.”

Keeping it local

“Swapping those big name retailers for smaller, local producers can make a huge difference. Supermarkets by their nature deal in bulk, meaning that you often have little choice but to overbuy, especially when it comes to things like vegetables or meat products.

"They also reel you in with the promise of cheaper prices by buying more than you really need.”

From Farm to Table

“Buying your food straight from the farm can not only give you a better quality product but it gives you more control over the amounts that you’re buying so the fridge won’t be full of stuff you’ll never get around to using.

An urge to stop the mounting amount of food waste (photo: Unsplash)An urge to stop the mounting amount of food waste (photo: Unsplash)
An urge to stop the mounting amount of food waste (photo: Unsplash)
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"It also means that what you’re buying is as fresh as it possibly can be without first having been wrapped in plastic and sat in an industrial chiller for days.”

Sustainable Food Retailers

“Want to buy straight from the farm but don’t fancy donning your wellies? Sites like 44 Foods give you access to producers across the UK - think of it like a nationwide farm shop that lets you pick and choose ethically homegrown produce which is then delivered to your door.

"We also don’t do next day delivery which means that everything you order is at it’s very best when it reaches you. We even do bundles which means that whether you’re cooking a Sunday roast or a weekday meal, we’ll pull together everything you need, in the right quantities, and all you need to do is the cooking.”

So, when it comes to reducing food waste, it's about shopping smaller, shopping smarter and focusing your food budget where it really matters. To see the full 44 Foods range, visit www.44foods.com website.

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For more on how not to waste food see Gregg Wallace tips on: