AS food prices have been on the rise for the past couple of years via big chain supermarkets, it has never been more important to make the most of the food we are buying.
On average there are 4.5 million tonnes of edible food and drink thrown away each year where we live. Twenty million slices of bread are thrown away every day, four million potatoes and three million glasses of milk. All that good starch and calcium going to waste.
When this is all broken down this equates to £730 in money terms per year per home. This is a lot for people that come from low-income households in Belfast. So what can we do to reduce food waste? Well, there’s lots of things that can be done.
For example, plan a weekly menu and write a weekly shopping list. Always check your fridge and store cupboard before you shop. Both these things will prevent you from buying food that you don’t need. Always keep an eye on your use-by dates and freeze fresh items that you can’t use in time.
Make sure your food is stored correctly, in the right place and at the appropriate temperature. So make sure and read your storage instructions. Keep your fridge at or below five degrees celsius with the freezer below minus eighteen.
Measure out your food appropriately so you have appropriate portion size for your meals. If you have time, why not batch cook and freeze once per week? And use up previous evening leftovers for lunch the next day.
These small tips can go a long way to playing out part in reducing food waste and also saving you money too.
Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly twitter. Email: attentivenutrition@
gmail.com
