Two members of Sustainable Crediton's Waste Action group have been inspired by this Community Action Group (CAG) Devon project event on reducing food waste and attended an event to become "Food champions".

UK households waste around £12.5 billion worth of good food and drink each year, costing the average family with children around £720 a year, or up to £60 per month. Most of this waste could have been avoided if only we'd managed it better; for example making sure we eat it in time, knowing just how much food to prepare,  and knowing what to do with our leftovers.

Wasting food and drink is not just a waste of money it is an unnecessary waste of energy and natural resources which went into the production, storage, preparation, packaging and transport of that food. If we could stop throwing good food away, we could save the equivalent carbon emissions of taking 1 in 4 cars off the roads.

Carolyn said " We were given lots of tips on better meal planning, savvy storage, perfect portions, using our leftovers effectively and recycling".

Fired up with enthusiasm the Waste Action Group have already started planning for a FREE LUNCH EVENT, where local retailers and the general public will be encouraged to donate  'Use by Date' fruit and veg in order to create delicious smoothies, soups and puddings. There will be a CAG Devon display, family friendly games and activities and free recipe books with helpful tips on how you can reduce your own food waste.

As soon as we have a date arranged we will be publicising the event and asking for volunteers to help us. Watch this space!

See more information on the Love food Hate Waste website with ideas to save money and inspiring recipes.