UKHarvest helps Community Food Hub Users to 'Fight Against Food Waste’ 

Thanks to an ongoing successful collaboration with West Sussex County Council (WSCC), UKHarvest have designed and created new innovative digital and print content, aimed at helping their Community Food Hub users to learn more about preparing, storing and cooking vegetables at home. This initiative aims to help reduce food waste in West Sussex, with funding provided by WSCC. 

With 60% of the total food waste in UK coming from homes, UKHarvest are working with WSCC to reduce that number, ultimately saving households money, and time, and reducing waste, while increasing knowledge and confidence when food shopping and in the kitchen. 

A collection of videos entitled ‘Veg While You Wait’ offer visually exciting and enticing content of how to cook, prepare and preserve a range of vegetables, highlighting the most wasted foods like bread, poultry, tomatoes and potatoes. The videos will be running at the WSCC Community Food Hubs throughout the coming months. 

The accessible and fun ‘Fight Against Food Waste’ booklet, is available at all Community Food Hubs, and also free to download. The booklet offers clear and helpful hints and tips on reducing food waste. Sections include ‘Be a Smarter Shopper’, ‘Freeze with Ease’ and ‘Love your Leftovers’. The carefully collated selection of ideas should enable households to feel confident when cooking, and better prepared when shopping. 

Donna Martin, Community Engagement and Events Manager for UKHarvest, has worked closely with WSCC to create and deliver this exciting project. Donna has shared that ‘The development of the successful relationship between UKHarvest and West Sussex County Council is testament to the passion and enthusiasm we have for fighting food waste at the very heart of the issue. Whilst there is a lot of coverage about the negative impact growers, producers and distributors have on the food waste epidemic, we can still do so much more at home. We’re hopeful that the videos and the booklet we’ve collaboratively created helps to reduce food waste in Sussex whilst continuing to support our communities.’ 

Wayne Lewis, Assistant Director for Environment and Public Protection at West Sussex  
County Council said: ‘An important element of our Council Plan is to protect the environment by reducing the amount of waste we must process, so tackling food waste and helping people find ways to reduce the amount of food which ends up in the bin is critical. Food waste has an environmental impact as when you throw food away you are not only wasting the product but also the resources that went into creating it. We’re pleased to be collaborating with UKHarvest in the creation of these food waste busting videos. We hope you find these useful and informative in making the most out of Britian’s top wasted foods’.  

For more information about how you can access UKHarvest’s Community Food Hubs, educational material or a wealth of information about food waste, or if you would like to be involved through time, food or financial donations, please visit www.ukharvest.org.uk.