Press release, [embargo] Tuesday 26th November 2019
LET’S FIGHT FOOD WASTE TOGETHER! • Pioneering Food Savvy campaign calls on more businesses and residents across Norfolk and Suffolk to get involved.
• Campaign builds on successful first year with exciting new activity programme. • Food Savvy aims to reduce the £810 of edible food the average household wastes each year.
• New polling shows most people in Norfolk and Suffolk are unaware that food waste is a significant contributor to climate change.
Residents and communities across Norfolk and Suffolk are being urged to get involved in Food Savvy, a pioneering two-year campaign that is tackling food waste in the region. Food waste is a major contributor to climate change but only 38% of people are aware that this is the case according to a new survey of over 2000 residents across the two counties1. Only 15% correctly agreed that food waste has more of an impact on climate change than plastic and 60% said they were more concerned about the plastic issue than the amount of food we throw away. The survey also showed that the biggest cause of food waste in the home was not getting around to using items before their use-by date with 49% of Norfolk and Suffolk residents admitting this. 70% say they feel frustrated or sad when they throw food that could have been eaten in the bin. Launched by Norfolk County Council, the Suffolk Waste Partnership and environmental charity Hubbub in September 2018, Food Savvy aims to reduce the £810 worth of edible food East Anglian residents are wasting each year – 60% of which is avoidable2. In its first year, Food Savvy has secured over 30 new partnerships, launched 9 campaigns, and been involved in 50 events across the two counties. The campaign is today calling on more members of the community - businesses, schools, community groups, as well as influencers like chefs, food celebrities, lifestyle bloggers and vloggers - to take the campaign to the next level and get involved in its range of engaging activities.