Zero Waste Week 2013 – the final frontier

Congratulations! You’ve made it…

Welcome to day seven of zero waste week.I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have and have enjoyed filling your bellies not your bins.

Have you totted up how much food you’ve saved from being wasted?

And have you converted that to cash to see what you’ve saved?

The average family throws away £50 of food per month; wouldn’t that make a nice savings fund for something?

But it’s not all over yet, let’s get stuck into today’s challenge.

Sometimes, despite all our best plans, food gets wasted.

Today I’m sharing some last ditch ways in which you can prevent food going to landfill or being composted.

FOOD BANKS

Every day people in the UK go hungry. Trussell Trust foodbanks provide a minimum of three days emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK. Find you nearest food bank, and see what you can donate.

CASSEROLE CLUB

Casserole helps people share extra portions of home cooked food with others in their area who might not always be able to cook for themselves.  It’s a great way to pay it forward and perform a random act of kindness while totting up some karma points.

FEED THE BIRDS

Our feathered friends will help eat up the scraps from your kitchen. Offer them:

• fat including suet
  mild grated cheese
  cooked potatoes
  dried fruits
  windfall fruit
  pastry
  cooked rice
  oats
  crumbled stale (but not mouldy) bread

USE YOUR LEFTOVERS

Some of our community reported that they had good intentions with leftovers, but failed to use them up in time. Here are some top tips:

• Store leftovers properly – cool them down and put in the fridge or freezer
• Label foods or use see through containers – we don’t want any UFOs lurking (unidentified frozen objects)
• Keep things in sight – top of the fridge towards the front or written on a whiteboard please
• Use your freezer – so many things can be frozen from baked beans to milk to mashed potato
• Don’t get bored with leftovers; pep things up with spices and herbs, cheese sauces or by wrapping in pastry.

Phew! I’m done! It’s been a wonderful week. I’ve loved receiving all your comments and chatting with you on social media. Feel free to give any feedback; good or bad and keep up the great work – I’m proud of you!