Food Waste Action Week

Ongo is taking part in Food Waste Action Week, sharing handy tips and celebrating their efforts in contributing to this year’s theme of ‘choosing what you’ll use‘.

The week runs from 18 to 24 March and is organised by Love Food Hate Waste. It’s their flagship annual campaign which brings businesses, government organisations and global partners together to develop the tools they need to cut waste.

Every day in UK homes, we throw away 2.9 million potatoes, 1 million bananas and 2.1 million carrots, with 35% of all food binned fresh fruit, veg and salad.

In total, it is estimated that eight meals could be saved each week if we stopped binning edible food at home.

Ongo avoids food waste in a variety of ways.  Any left-over food from their community cafes is donated to local people and those that attend their youth club. In particular, spare fruit is given out at the Stay and Play sessions that parents with children up to the age of four attend.  They also donate left over food from buffets to local charities that rely on donations to support their clients.

Here are some handy hints you can follow:

Think before you shop – planning meals and writing a list can help you avoid impulse buying

Set a budget before you get to the shop – use the quick scan hand-held facility as it adds up your food bill as you go along

Set your fridge at the right temperature – having it below 5°c keeps food fresher for longer

Plan a day to use up leftover food – or food close to the end of its life for a flexible, freestyle and creative tasty meal

Get date label savvy – lean what date labels mean, ‘use by’ is about food safety and ‘best before’ is about food quality. It could save you money by not binning food in error

Think frozen foods – It’s quite often cheaper that buying fresh food, easy to use and stays fresh for longer

For more information on food waste, head to: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com. To find out more about Ongo and the work they do, follow them on social media or visit their website: www.ongo.co.uk.