As part of the Food Waste Action Week, WRAP will ask the public to take part in a simple challenge to try to reduce their own household food waste

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The Food Waste Action Week will share simple food management tips and techniques proven to help prevent wasting food (Credit: Shutterstock/Alohaflaminggo)

UK sustainability charity the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced its first strategic partners committed to the inaugural Food Waste Action Week.

The Food Waste Action Week will take place between Monday 1st and Sunday 7th March, with activities happening across the whole of the UK.

The week will link organisations across the food supply chain including Lidi, Ocado and Tesco to stop food from going to waste and curb the contribution it makes towards climate change.

All are united in the simple message to their staff, customers and clients – “Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change”.

The campaign already has 27 strategic and 43 supporting partners signed up, and WRAP is calling on others to commit.

Its CEO Marcus Gover said: “Wasting food is a major cause of climate change – it generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the commercial flights in the world.

“We know through our research that the climate change emergency matters to people so this is something we can – and must – act on together.

“It is time to focus on saving one of our most precious resources instead of generating greenhouse gases producing food that is never eaten.

“I’m delighted to be launching the first UK Food Waste Action Week in March, and to have such strong support from our partners across sectors.

“Together we will inspire real and lasting change. Food Waste Action Week gives organisations a unique opportunity to capture their customers’ attention as part of a national event and help them to play their part in eliminating food being wasted and tackling climate change.”

 

WRAP to challenge households to reduce food waste to close to zero as part of the Food Waste Action Week

As part of the Food Waste Action Week, WRAP will ask the public to take part in a simple challenge to try to reduce their own household food waste to as close to zero as possible.

It will also share simple food management tips and techniques proven to help prevent wasting food.

The huge public campaign will be headed by a well-known public figure, with this person being announced by WRAP prior to the event.

They will help bring alive the message that wasting food feeds climate change by focusing on a different theme each day, ranging from food storage to portion planning.

Elisabeth Faure, the UK director of Nobel Prizing-winning organisation The World Food Programme, said “At the World Food Programme, we see hunger and its devastating consequences every day, with one in nine people going to bed hungry, but globally one-third of the food we produce is lost or wasted.

“We all need to value food more and do our bit to make a difference for the future of our planet and we can do that by getting behind Food Waste Action Week.”

The public will see information and activities happening throughout the week across social media and digital platforms.

There will also be wide-scale action from an array of well-known influencers helping people stop food that could have been eaten from ending up in the bin, with daily support and tips from WRAP’s food experts.

UK environment minister Rebecca Pow said: “Cutting food waste is not just about saving money, but also a vital part of the work we are doing to tackle climate change and protect our precious environment.

“Far too much food is thrown away, but we can take action to address this, and Food Waste Action Week will be a key opportunity to bring the whole food supply chain together, from farm to fork, to tackle this important issue.”

The Co-op’s environment manager Iain Ferguson added: “Co-op is committed to preventing food waste – both through our own operations and through supporting our customers and members to reduce food waste at home.

“We recognise that it’s only through collective action that we can move the dial on food waste and ultimately, its impact on climate change and the planet we share.

“As a strategic partner, we actively support the aims of Food Waste Action Week 2021 and welcome the drive for increasing awareness around the impact of food waste and the inspiration it will provide to encourage citizens to take action together.”

KFC UK & Ireland’s director of responsibility and reputation Jenny Packwood added: “We’re proud to be a strategic partner of WRAP and supporting the first-ever Food Waste Action Week.

“We know there’s work to be done to assess the impact global food waste has on production and supply chain long term – and we’re excited to start the journey with WRAP to see what we can all achieve by 2030.”