WRAP announces Food Waste Action Week 2023

Key news: ‘Win. Don’t bin.’ WRAP’s food waste campaign Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW), announces third annual Food Waste Action Week (FWAW) - the UK’s largest food waste behaviour change campaign aiming to cut household food waste, slash food shopping bills and save the planet. Ocado Retail becomes the first campaign sponsor.

When: Food Waste Action Week will run from Monday 6^th – Sunday 12^th March 2023.

Objectives of Food Waste Action Week:

• The third annual FWAW will build on the success of this year’s campaign which was supported by 80 organisations across 12 countries. In the UK alone, more than 8 million people heard about food waste during FWAW 2022, resulting in almost 55% taking action to reduce the amount of food they bin at home.
• Focusing on the theme of ‘Win. Don’t bin,’ the 2023 campaign will demonstrate how valuable food is in our lives, how it unites people and how using up everything we buy saves money, time and the planet.
• The campaign aims to increase citizens’ confidence in ‘using up leftovers’ by promoting a range of skills that can be easily adopted but potentially have the greatest impact on reducing food waste in the home.
• WRAP call on key partners such as governments, local authorities, manufacturers, brands and retailers, and the hospitality and food service sector to amplify its messages and reach as many people as possible.
• International partners will be involved to ensure the campaign has an international impact.  
• Ocado Retail has committed to supporting the campaign as the first confirmed sponsor. WRAP is calling on other businesses to come forward and sponsor the campaign to help amplify the messages even further.

Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP: “There has never been a more important time to help households reduce their food waste. With food price inflation at an all-time high, WRAP is excited to be running our third annual FWAW and is looking for partners to step up and help people save money and fight the climate crisis. The cost of living crisis is putting many households under increased budgetary pressures and reducing the amount of food we waste in the home is a simple way we can all save ourselves money and time. Using up leftovers is a win-win solution for both our pockets and the planet.”

How will the campaign help people reduce their food waste?

• WRAP estimates that 1.1 million tonnes of food are wasted every year from UK homes because of preparing, cooking, or serving too much.
• That’s one-quarter of all food wasted for this reason, costing people £3.5 billion. Increasing people’s use of their leftovers will have a significant impact on UK household food waste at a key point in the journey of food through the home – just before it ends up in the bin.
• Using up leftovers involves a range of skills such as saving leftovers, putting them in an appropriate container, labelling and storing it in the fridge or freezer and then re-heating or eating cold at a later stage. WRAP’s research* has shown that many people lack confidence in this area so Love Food Hate Waste wants to empower them via these simple steps.

Why is reducing our food waste important?

• Research estimates that wasting food costs the average UK family more than £700 a year
• We throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, equivalent to 5.4% of the UK’s territorial emissions.
• The majority, 4.5 million tonnes is food that could have been eaten and is worth approximately £14 billion (or £60 a month for an average family with two children).
• With household budgets under pressure and time running out to achieve net zero, saving food can save money and the planet. ‘Win. Don’t bin.’

Rachel Cox-Reynolds, director for own-brand, technical and sustainability at Ocado Retail said: "Here at Ocado, we have the lowest level of food waste in the industry at just 0.6%. It's a topic that we're passionate about so are delighted to be sponsoring WRAP's latest campaign, designed to help and encourage others to reduce their waste too."