Fruit and veg winner
15-Sep-2009 11:14:51
Elaine Butchins from Borehamwood is the lucky winner of a basket of fruit and veg courtesy of the council.
Elaine Butchins and her husband Clive with the baskets of fruit and veg
Hertsmere Borough Council teamed up with Tesco to promote recycling and the national 'Love Food, Hate Waste' campaign. Two events took place at stores in Borehamwood and Potters Bar earlier this month to spread the message to reduce food waste and give practical advice to help people do their bit for the environment and save money at the same time. People were also invited to fill out a short survey on their food waste habits and automatically entered into a free prize draw for a basket of fruit and a basket of vegetables.
Hertsmere Borough Council's Recycling Officer, Gemma Godfrey, said: "A third of the food we buy in the UK ends up being thrown away which costs the average household up to £420 a year. This is truly horrifying especially when most of it is, or once was, perfectly good enough to eat.
"Whether it's buying too much food or cooking too much food we're all guilty of wasting it, but by making small changes to our habits we can all reduce the amount we throw away and save money at the same time."
At the events goodies were given away including bag clips to keep food fresh for longer and recipe cards giving ideas on how to use up leftovers.
Elaine said: "It was a real surprise to win, the baskets are absolutely beautiful.
"I made a huge stew and am planning to make a big pot of soup with all the vegetables in the basket, some of which I will freeze.
"I try to waste as little food as possible, anything I don't use I recycle in my green bin. I buy the Hertsmere kitchen caddy bags from the leisure centre which I find very useful."
If you're fed up of wasting food and want to save money try:
- writing a shopping list and only getting the things you really need
- planning your meals around what needs using up
- only cooking what you will eat
- using leftovers for lunch.
For more information call 020 8207 7480 or email street.scene@hertsmere.gov.uk