#ClearAPlate to End Food Poverty

I was brought up to believe that food is a precious commodity that deserves to be revered. Coming from a deeply religious Hindu family, the concept that food is to be treated with the same respect and devotion as God was one that got ingrained into my conscience at a very early age. My parents never spared any opportunity to reinforce the belief that to waste food willy-nilly without a just cause was nothing short of a sin!

The concept was difficult for me to fathom as a child, especially as I was fortunate enough to have enough on my plate and more, at any meal of any day. As I grew up, I became more and more aware of the reason behind my parents' insistence on avoiding food waste.

While there are many of us living in comfort and taking all our meals for granted, there are those who are not so sure about where their next meal is going to come from, if at all. Contrary to popular belief, it is not just people in the developing countries around the globe that are facing the horror of starvation.

It is very unfortunate that there are families right here in the UK for whom hunger is only too real. New research out in November this year shows that not being able to feed ourselves or our children is a very real concern for many families across the UK. 42% of households consider it difficult to live on their income, with 20% of these struggling families borrowing money from family or friends in order to feed themselves and their children. Shockingly 22% of the parents in these families even go without food so that their children can eat. Yet 75% of us continue to throw away food that could have been eaten.

Unilever have launched Project Sunlight with the hope to make this world a better place for our children to inherit. The #ClearAPlate campaign is an off-shoot of this project. Working in partnership with Oxfam, the aim is to 'waste not, want not', to provide meals to struggling families here in the UK.

                           

It really does not take a lot of effort to stop food waste. Here are 5 really simple ways by which you can stop food waste and do your bit to put an end to food poverty.

5 Easy Ways to Stop Food Waste:

1) Meal planning: Try and chart out a weekly plan for all your meals. That way, you will know exactly what and how much of anything you need to buy. It will help you budget better as well.

2) Shopping lists: This is the next logical step to meal planning. Once you know what you are eating through the week, it is only right that you list out all that you need to buy to make those meals. I find shopping lists extremely useful when I do my grocery shop. They allow me to stay focussed on what I actually need to buy, rather than being distracted by all the promotions on supermarket shelves.
Doing your grocery shopping on-line might be another useful way to stick to your shopping list and budget and to avoid being carried away by promotions.

3) Use by and Best before: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has clear guidelines with regards to 'use by' and 'best before' dates on food packaging. 'Use by' is for perishable foods that go off quickly, like meats, ready-prepared salads and other products in chilled cabinets in the supermarket. Eating products after the 'use by' date can prove to be a health hazard.

'Best before' is for frozen, dried, tinned and other foods. This is more about quality than safety. Eating something beyond its 'best before' date doesn't mean the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.

Knowing what can be eaten and by when can go a long way in avoiding waste.

4) Safely store and use leftovers: This is a key factor in avoiding food waste. Simple, small steps like freezing extra portions, refrigerating left-overs and creating new recipes with them can make all the difference between salvaging food and binning it.

Instead of throwing out those black, over-ripe bananas, try baking with them. The result is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

5) Portion sizes: This is such a small change to adopt in our everyday lives, but one that can make a huge impact in the long run. Instead of taking huge portions and then throwing leftovers in the bin, just take smaller portions to start with. You can always go back for seconds. You may even notice a shrinking waistline as a side-effect!

Five really simple things that can make such a big difference. Not only for the cause of preventing food waste, but also to your pocket. Think about how much you will save in a year as a family by incorporating these small little changes in your daily routines.

We are on the threshold of a new year, a time to make new resolutions. A time to act against food poverty and to do your bit to put an end to food waste.

I have joined forces with Unilever and the #ClearAPlate campaign to bring you a competition, one that will hopefully inspire you to pledge your support to this cause.

image courtesy Project Sunlight and #ClearAPlate

One of you, my readers, are in with a chance of winning a fantastic hamper worth £50. It will include a colourful kitchen whisk, measuring spoons, fridge magnets with imperial/metric conversions, a measuring jug, multicoloured stacking food containers, reusable cupcake cases, an egg timer, a shopping list/meal planner notebook, a window planter with seeds and a Leftovers Cookbook. 

You can enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: I am running this competition on behalf of the team at Unilever and #ClearAPlate. I am also linking up with Mumsnet in the hope of winning a pair of tickets to BlogFest 2015. I have not received any compensation to do either of these things.