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PECT is leading a campaign to reduce food waste in Peterborough, after being chosen to be a Sainsbury’s ‘Discovery Community’ as part of the supermarket’s ‘Waste Less, Save More’ campaign. The environmental charity has received a grant of £39,790 to carry out a variety of activities across the city to tackle food waste.
‘Waste Less, Save More’ was launched by Sainsbury’s in 2015 to help combat the growing issue of food waste. Following a 12-month trial in Derbyshire, the retailer has unveiled a further £1 million investment to support 147 UK-wide projects – which includes this one in Peterborough.
“The average family throws away £700 worth of food a year,” explains PECT’s Karen Igho. “With this project we aim to supply local residents with the knowledge needed to cut down on their waste and save on their food bills. By delivering a combination of awareness raising events as well as practical cookery skills sessions, the cumulative impact will be greater.”
The exciting activities running as part of the project include installing two Community Fridges, one of which will be in the WestRaven Community Café. These fridges will store leftover food from supermarkets and local stores that might otherwise have been wasted. Local residents will be able take home the food to feed their families for free.
To ensure the food waste message reaches 100s of local school children, PECT will also roll out Fab Food in 15 Peterborough schools, supporting teachers and developing resources that help embed knowledge around food waste into the curriculum.
Working with The Children’s Food Trust, 20 Food Saver Champions will be trained to run waste saver and cooking sessions. Hubs will have a small grant and resources to ensure consistent waste messaging.
As part of Planet B, PECT will also hold a Feed the 1,000 community picnic in Cathedral Square, on Saturday 5th August. The event will attempt to feed 1,000 people using leftover food to highlight how much food is wasted by the average family each year. Volunteers will be on hand to serve up advice and recipe ideas for using leftovers.
The city has a strong network of organisations with the expertise, knowledge and passion to support food waste projects. ‘Waste Less, Save More’ brings PECT together in partnership with the Children’s Food Trust, Cross Keys Homes, FoodCycle, Peterborough City Council, Public Health’s Healthy Schools programme and primary schools across the city.
Councillor Gavin Elsey, Cabinet Member for Waste and Street Scene at Peterborough City Council, said: “We are fully behind PECT’s initiative to reduce food waste across the city and very much look forward to the fantastic event planned for Cathedral Square in August. This is about saving money for Peterborough families however if people do have to throw food away then please place it in your grey food waste caddies. The council collects over 4,500 tonnes of food waste a year which is used to produce electricity – generating enough to power 600 homes annually.”
For more details about PECT’s ‘Waste Less, Save More’ activities, visit www.pect.org.uk or call 01733 568408. The charity is also looking for volunteers to assist at the Feed the 1,000 event, please email volunteering@pect.org.uk for further details.