Whether its a pair of Summer sandals from Primark no longer pristine white, plastic shopping bags or a loaf of bread past it’s Sell By Date, we, as a nation, are firmly entrenched in a throwaway culture.
Each year, Scottish people throw away 630,000 tonnes of food and drink (!) which works out at £470 per year for the average household (Scotland Love Food Hate Waste). What is even more galling about these stats is that more than half of what is thrown away, could have been consumed.
Now I personally (partially) blame sell by / use by dates which can be misleading but it is also believed that we have lost the ability to use up our leftovers. Something the older generations (namely our Grannies) would be astounded at.
To raise awareness of this environmental, not to mention economical concern, the charity Hubbub has teamed up with Tesco and the Love Food Hate Waste campaign to launch the #ExpressYourShelf campaign.
Myself and 8 other bloggers from Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool have been selected to take on the challenge of living 1 week without producing any food waste. We’ve taken to Twitter with our hashtag and over the last week, been posting our various creations and top tips and advice for meal planning and using up leftovers. Click here for more details.
The Bloggers
- What Claire Baked
- Wee Pinch of Sugar
- Pikalily
- Belfast Food Man
- Northern Foodie
- Grab Your Spoon
- What Emma Did
It’s not just us bloggers getting involved, Hubbub are shining the spotlight on the nation and encouraging us to think twice about what we have in our cupboards, fridge and freezer before we start cooking. Here’s how you can get involved:
- Share a shelfie of your fridge/cupboard/freezer and show us what’s in there (don’t be shy!) on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #ExpressYourShelf
- Tell us how you plan your food shopping
- Share your favourite recipe for using up leftovers
- Show us how you store food to avoid food waste
- Join the #ExpressYourShelf Tweetathon and Gramathon (for Instagrammers) on Wednesday 21st October and be in with the chance of winning £50 of Tesco vouchers
ExpressYourShelf Tweetathon & Grammathon
The #ExpressYourShelf campaign ends on Wednesday 21st October and we’re going out with a bang! From 9am till midnight, us bloggers and Hubbub will be rounding off our week with a live Tweetathon and Grammathon. So here’s how, and when, you can get involved tomorrow:
- 9-10am
Share a shelfie of your fridge, cupboard or freezer
- 10 – 11am
Share your favourite recipe for using up leftovers
- 11-12pm
Share your top storage advice, tips for meal planning and organising your shopping trips
- 4-5pm
Shelf Help Hour! We bloggers will be answering questions on reducing food waste & offering tips for cooking & storing food. Ask us a question & we’ll find the answer for you!
*Hubbub kindly provided myself with Tesco vouchers for the Food Fighter Challenge.