Press release, [embargo] Wednesday 11th October 2023
Cook don’t carve! Eat your pumpkin and save 95 million meals from the bin this Halloween •
This Halloween, 30 million pumpkins are expected to be bought for carving, of which 16 million won’t be eaten
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Hubbub calls for public to embrace creative alternatives to carving to reduce the scary number of pumpkins that go to waste
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“Draw with Rob” video launching to inspire kids to decorate instead of carving
New research from environmental charity Hubbub has revealed a horrifying 30.43 million pumpkins1 are expected to be bought for carving this Halloween, of which 15.82 million2 won’t be eaten. This is the equivalent of 95 million meals-worth³ of pumpkins set to go to waste, worth £26.7 million.4 The Censuswide survey of 2,000 UK residents found that of those who celebrate Halloween, more than half (55%) scoop out the pumpkin and carve shapes into the skin. However, the data suggests 1.9 million households in the UK do not enjoy carving pumpkins. A third (33%) of these respondents say it’s because they find it a hassle, while the same proportion of people don’t like the mess it creates. Today, Hubbub has launched its annual #EatYourPumpkin campaign which calls on Halloween lovers to ditch the knife and give decorating a go. By switching pumpkin carving to decorating, the charity hopes that even more pumpkins will be eaten this Halloween. Mark Breen, Senior Creative Partner at Hubbub said: “For ten years we’ve been inspiring the public to eat their pumpkins at Halloween. This year we’re sharing fun ideas to decorate pumpkins instead of carving them, to help them keep for longer and give people more time to cook them. For those who love to carve their masterpiece, don’t forget those carvings make a great addition to a soup or curry.”