For every five bags of groceries we buy, one will be wasted: The scourge of food waste in London

Carina Millstone28 November 2017

While many families struggle to put food on the table, supermarkets, food manufacturers and households across the country waste a massive 10 million tonnes of food each year — much of it still perfectly edible.

The Felix Project and other charities already play a crucial role in diverting this good food away from bins and to the people who need it the most; yet much remains to be done. Thankfully, supermarkets have started to rise to the challenge. Tesco, for example, committed last year to redistribute 100 per cent of its surplus food to charity.

A few weeks ago, all major retailers announced they would publish their operational food waste data: a critical first step to prevent waste occurring in the first place and to put in place the infrastructure required for redistribution. These initiatives are all welcome steps in the right direction.

But supermarkets must also examine how their “special offers” and “family” packaging sizes could be pushing customers to buy more than they need. For every five bags of groceries we take home, one will be wasted — costing the average London family with children £700 a year.

And it’s not just our wallets that hurt when we throw away food, it’s also our planet. One third of food grown globally is never eaten — a waste of land, water and resources. Eliminating food waste from UK homes would reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by as much as removing one in four cars.

We can all take action to fight food waste. Before our weekly shop, we can have a good look at the back of our fridges; when shopping, we can stick to our lists, and, back at home, we can get more creative with leftovers.

At Feedback we shine a spotlight on the reality of the environmental as well as the social costs of glossing over food waste. That’s why we call on all Londoners to support the Evening Standard’s Christmas campaign, and the vital work of the Felix Project.

Carina Millstone is executive director of Feedback, an environmental organisation that campaigns to end food waste.

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