WRAP, the UK’s leading sustainability charity, has announced names of the first strategic partner organisations committed to the inaugural Food Waste Action Week. Food Waste Action Week will take place between Monday 1st to Sunday 7th March, with activities happening across the whole of the UK. The Week will link organisations across the food supply chain and beyond to stop food 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”.
Despite the ongoing lockdown, Food Waste Action Week 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. WRAP and partners will 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, who WRAP will announce prior to the event. They will help bring alive the message that Wasting Food Feeds Climate Change by focussing on a different theme each day, from food storage and portion planning to creative ways to use up food, and practical steps such as setting fridge temperature correctly. All based on the seven main causes of food being wasted in the home.
The public will see information and activities happening throughout the Week across social media and digital platforms, with hard-hitting creative assets communicating the message wasting food feeds climate change, and stressing that we all have a part to play in breaking the cycle. There will be widescale action from an array of well-known influencers helping people stop food that could have been eaten ending up in the bin, with daily support and tips from WRAP’s food experts.
The campaign already has 27 strategic partners, and 42 supporting partners signed up, and WRAP is calling on others to commit. Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP, 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.”
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize winner The World Food Programme is supporting The Week, and Elisabeth Faure, Director UK Office said of the importance of food for humanity and the planet: “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.”
WRAP is partnering with some of the UK’s leading brands, retailers, manufacturers, hospitality & food service businesses, universities, charities and local authorities. Partners have access to creative assets to re-enforce messaging and communicate the devastating impact wasting food that could have been eaten has on climate change, and what they’re doing about it. This will be via in-store messaging, staff engagement, social media activity, competitions, blogs, videos and other communication activities. The first confirmed strategic partners include Asda, Co-op, KFC, M&S, Unilever and Waitrose & Partners, amongst others. Given the consumer interest in climate change, WRAP is convinced that the food brands and retailers aligned and supporting its core messages will increase their brand recognition and reputation. WRAP is keen to invite more organisations to come forward to help spread the message.
Despite the huge impact of the pandemic on many businesses, Food Waste Action Week will involve partners from the Hospitality and Food Service sector through WRAP’s revamped Guardians of Grub campaign. The Week has strong support from trade bodies, and is an opportunity to engage with their customers. In addition to the week being headed by a special celebrity to be announced, chef and restaurateur Adam Handling said “I’m so excited to be supporting WRAP’s first ever Food Waste Action Week to help spread awareness of our wasted food and how it’s impacting global climate change. It’s an issue that has always been close to my heart when running my restaurants, and I’m really looking forward to sharing some of my tips for reducing food waste as part of this campaign, both for inspiring home cooks and for other bar and restaurant owners. As a population, we waste so much food needlessly when all it takes is a bit of creativity to turn ingredients that may have been thought of as waste into delicious meals! That’s why this campaign is so important, so that we can all learn more and play our part in cutting our carbon footprint by joining the food waste fight.”
For more information visit wrap.org.uk
