Our Vision The UK is facing a food waste challenge. It is estimated that 7.1m tonnes of food waste was binned by households in 2015 – over 60% of which was avoidable. In Norfolk and Suffolk, this equates to 118,000 tonnes of wasted food annually across the two counties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, household food wastage of four key items decreased by 34%*. Whether these changes stick long term remains to be seen, but the public’s desire for change is promising. In August 2020 two thirds of 2,002 householders surveyed expressed that they want to do more to reduce food waste.** Supporting these households to reduce food waste in the wake of the pandemic, and longer term, requires leadership and a coordinated response. As the climate crisis escalates and household budgets are further stretched, we cannot ignore the imperative to reduce food waste. Food Savvy’s call for communities and businesses to work together to cut food waste is now louder than ever. Over the last two years, Food Savvy has used local insight and international best practice to work towards our vision of a 20% reduction by 2025. This report shares our achievements and learning during a year of great change for UK households. We are calling on more local organisations to join us in our effort in the year ahead. * April 2020 Wrap research among a sample of 4,197 nationally representative UK adults https://www.wrap.org.uk/content/citizens-and-food-covid-19-lockdown. **Nationally representative polling of 2,002 Britons conducted in Aug 2020 by Censuswide on behalf of Tesco and Hubbub.
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