RESIDENTS in Worcestershire are being encouraged to be Food Savvy to help save money and waste less food.
A recent poll in the county showed that one third of residents throw away edible food more than once a week.
The main reasons include that they cook too much or having food that goes past its sell by date.
It also showed that 40 per cent of residents said they threw away food because they had no knowledge about how to store or use up food.
In Worcestershire more than one third of the contents of the black bin is food waste and of this, more than two thirds was considered “avoidable, meaning it could have been eaten.
The County Council will be holding special events, visiting schools and posting top tips on its social media channels to encourage people to waste less.
Coun Richard Morris, cabinet member for environment at Worcestershire County Council said: “We know people waste food for all sorts of reasons. They buy too much, don’t know how to store it correctly or aren’t quite sure how best to use any leftovers.
“Food Savvy aims to provide information to help people plan better, store it right and get more creative to help reduce waste and at the same time save some money.”
Worcestershire County Council has recently been working alongside environmental charity Hubbub and Wychavon District Council to trial new and exciting messages to help residents save money and prevent food waste.
The Food Savvy initiative will see the County Council reaching out to residents on key themes around the food that is most wasted, such as bread, and at times of the year when food waste traditionally rises including summer BBQ’s and at Christmas.
Mark Breen, from Hubbub, said: “Nobody sets out to waste the food they buy, yet the food we waste in the UK every year would fill 66,000 three-bed terraced houses.
“Our simple tips and hacks have already helped people across Wychavon to enjoy more delicious food and save a few quid. We can’t wait to see the impact this has across the whole county.”
Visit www.letswasteless.com/foodsavvy for more information.
