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As another month draws to an end, it's time to reflect on the #FoodSavvy challenge and find out how I got on this past month with reducing my food and plastic waste..
Over February I have been taking part in the #FoodSavvy challenge, which is a scheme introduced by environmental charity Hubbub and Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils to try and help Norfolk and Suffolk households to reduce their food and plastic waste. I was first introduced to the #FoodSavvy challenge in 2019 and since then i've really minimised my food waste and subsequently increased my knowledge on what else I could be doing to decrease my environmental impact. Some food waste is unavoidable, like vegetable peelings for example, but since starting the challenge i've even managed to find a use for these as well. Over the past month i've been storing all of my vegetable peelings in a container in my freezer to make a vegetable stock. Once i'd collected enough peelings and off-cuts of veg, I boiled the frozen peelings in water with a few fresh veggies, such as an onion and a few carrots, to make a delicious vegetable stock. I stored the vegetable stock in glass containers in the freezer, making sure to leave a gap for when the liquid expands during freezing. The glass containers I used were repurposed tomato passata jars. Prior to starting the challenge, I used to buy cartons of tomato passata, however these aren't recyclable so I sought out an alternative. Whilst shopping with Ocado, I noticed they were selling passata in glass containers for only 54p, which is much much cheaper than alternative brands from other supermarkets. Not only can I reuse the jars for making my stock, but they are also recyclable!
This is not the only change I have made during the month to reduce my 'waste'. Another change I have made is swapping the brand of pasta I buy, to a brand with recyclable packaging. Although this isn't a perfect swap, as i'm still technically producing waste, being able to recycle the packaging though is much better than it going to landfill. Ideally, i'd love to be able to do my weekly food shop at one of Norwich's zero-waste stores and farmer's markets, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get to these stores as frequently as I would have liked this month, so I tried my best with my local supermarket and that's what counts in my opinion.
I really enjoyed using products I was kindly gifted this month. Have a read of my previous post here to find out what items I received. My favourite products were definitely the sistema tupperware and snack pot, and the a slice of green produce bags. As a quick side note, the produce bags wold make a lovely gift if you're keen to get your friends and family being more conscientious about the waste they're producing. One of my favourite things about the challenge this month though, is discovering two great apps which i've become obsessed with. I've really been enjoying using the Olio and Too Good To Go apps, which are both apps designed to help us prevent food waste. On Olio, you can give away food which you've bought but won't get round to using before it goes off. I've managed to give away a celeriac using the app, and the whole pick up process couldn't have gone smoother. It's also great to meet likeminded individuals who are truly passionate about reducing their waste. So if you're in the Norwich area, I urge you to download Olio and give it a go. We definitely need more Olio-ers here!
Too Good To Go is a similar app, however the food given away is from food outlets such as supermarkets and restaurants. There are some great supermarkets and cafes already on the app in the Norwich area, but the more people that sign up in Norwich, the more likely other establishments are to join, which in turn means there will be much more choice of food for us to save! Yay! On the app, you are able to purchase 'magic bags' which are mystery food boxes filled with produce that hasn't been able to be sold during the day but that is still perfectly safe to eat. The contents of the box remains a mystery until you collect it, which is all part of the fun. One of the supermarkets in Norwich that is taking part is Morrison's in Riverside, although trying to get one of their 'Magic Bags' seems to be more difficult that getting Glastonbury tickets.. they sell out SO quickly! But i'm determined to purchase one to show you all what sort of things you can pick up for a real bargain, so stay tuned and I will persevere.
I've really enjoyed taking part in the #FoodSavvy challenge again this year, and i've definitely succeeded (and exceeded!) in my goal to reduce my food and plastic waste by 20%. I'd like to thank the team at Hubbub and Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils for having me on board for another year, and all of the companies that gifted my with products to help me reduce my waste.
Did you take part in the #FoodSavvy challenge this month?
xo
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