Across the world, 2.5 billion tonnes of food is wasted each year. To put this into perspective, this means that over 4,000 tonnes of food are wasted every minute. If you divided this food between everyone struggling with food insecurity (roughly 2.3 billion people), it would be enough to provide each person with 7 meals a day. Although the countries most responsible for food waste are China, India, and Nigeria, the UK also plays a massive role, wasting 9.5 million tonnes of food per year - even though 8.4 million people in the UK live in food poverty. The key question is, where exactly is this food wastage happening? 

One of the important factors is food waste in schools. UK schools are estimated to contribute to 80k tonnes of food waste a year, and almost half of this food wastage is estimated to be fruit and vegetables. It goes without saying that for a nation facing both a cost of living crisis and the continuously worsening climate crisis, these statistics are gravely worrying. Luckily not everyone is willing to stand by whilst these numbers become more and more depressing. Students at schools in Southwark have formed a plan to help tackle food wastage in schools by working together. Propositions for ways schools can become more sustainable include working together with food banks to donate excess food and investing in composting bins. In addition, they are working to raise awareness amongst students about the harms of wasting food. These are just the first steps towards what will hopefully be a long term change to how food and food wastage is managed in schools. 

However, even though organisations and schools account for an undeniably large amount of this wastage, 70% is wasted in UK homes. This totals to a staggering 6.6 million tonnes of food waste. It’s clear that if we want to make drastic changes to handling food waste, one of the best places to start is in our own kitchens. So what can you do to waste less food? 

Some easy things you can start doing today include meal planning for the week ahead, composting, and using leftovers creatively. For example, instead of throwing away vegetable scraps, consider freezing them and using them to make an easy vegetable stock. Whilst some of these options can be challenging for people with less time on their hands or smaller budgets, everyone can decrease their food wastage by simply storing food properly and being more aware of what they’re using. 

Another great option can be sustainable food deliveries, such as Oddbox. Oddbox is a company whose goal is to “fight food waste with a delivery of deliciously odd fruit and veg”. They take food that is “too big, too wonky, or too many” and send it out to households all over the nation to prevent it from being wasted. Oddbox is an easy, affordable option that’s especially great for anyone who finds themselves short on time or struggling to use all their food before it expires. 

So as we enter the holiday season this year, perhaps take a second to ask yourself whether you really need the food you’re buying. It could very well mean a Christmas meal for someone else in need.