I’m wising up to waste and helping get the word out about the North London Waste Authority’s Save a Crust campaign. It’s a fun and yummy way to reduce waste and be a better cook!
Did you know that 24 million slices of bread are thrown away every day in the UK, contributing to the average household tossing out £800 worth of food annually?
According to research commissioned by NLWA, more than 250 million bread crusts are binned every year across London alone, with one in four people saying they overlook the end slices of loaves. Just under 13 million loaves of bread (and just over £13 million) is thrown away every year and the equivalent of one and a quarter full loaves of bread being discarded every month by households that choose not to eat the ends of their loaves. In total, 1.2 billion bread crusts binned across the nation each year – worth nearly £62 million.
This all stacks up to a very sad situation indeed! But I’m here to help spread the news about the Save a Crust campaign and offer some tasty ideas to help you reduce waste and save money.
Free Cookery Workshops Across North London
NLWA has commissioned Keep Britain Tidy to host free Save a Crust workshops across north London. The workshops offer inspiration and practical tips offered by professional chefs from the Skills Training Network to help folks learns how to create healthy and affordable dishes while reducing waste.
A few of these workshops have already taken place, but there are plenty more opportunities. Upcoming dates include the following:
- 13 February 5-6pm at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Highgate Hill, Islington, N19 5NE
- 14 February 3.45-4.45pm at London Fields Primary School, Westgate Street, Hackney, E8 3RU
- 1 March 9.15-10.15am at Welbourne Primary School Play Centre, Stainby Road, Haringey, N15 4EA
- 5 March 3.30-4.30pm at Brecknock Primary School, 10 Cliff Villas, Camden, NW1 9AS
Some of the bread-based recipes to be shared at the workshops are dishes such as panzanella, bruschetta, ribollita, veggie bread bake, summer pudding, and chocolate and banana French toast.
This campaign, these workshops and those recipes sound delicious to me. I’m all for being more resourceful, and I’m never against trying something yummy. So I’m pleased to report that I’m looking forward to attending one of the next workshops and that I’m pitching in to lend a hand with the campaign.
Through my own Save a Crust miniseries, I’ll also be posting related information and ideas about how you can do more to reduce waste and be a thriftier home cook. Please stay tuned!
For further suggestions, more details and great advice go to wiseuptowaste.org.uk/wasteless/foodwaste/save-a-crust.
