Norfolk food shop says buying regularly and locally is key to reducing waste
Research found that over a quarter of those living in the East throw away food based on it's ‘best before date'
An organic food shop and café in Norfolk says buying regularly, locally and responsibly is key to reducing the amount of food we throw away.
It's after data from sustainable food app 'Too Good to Go' found that over 19 million pieces of food are being wasted every day - this equates to nearly 136 million a week.
"Shop more locally, shop more regularly"
Luke Coathup is from 'The Green Grocers' in Norwich: "A big driver of a lot of food waste is the various offers within supermarkets, for example buy one get one free, or items being sold at a big discount, often lead to people buying more than they need."
He told us how they keep their waste down: "We buy direct from farms, we don't mind if it's not the perfect carrot or the perfect shape - it's about paying a fair price to the farmer and ensuring the food miles are reduced as much as possible.
"We also sell our produce loose so that gets rid of all the packaging... and lots more people are bringing in their own jars to buy products in the quantities they want - that's one way our customers are reducing their food waste....
"If we have produce that might not be sellable, we can cut off any bad bits, then process the rest of the perfect product and turn it into food we sell at our café."
"Only buy what you need"
He has this message for those wanting to be more sustainable "Shop more locally, shop more regularly to keep your food fresh and only buy what you need.
"Try not to get hit by the big marketing powers of supermarkets, which sell you items you don't need."
What else did the research find?
The research also found that over a quarter of those living in the East throw away food based on it's ‘best before date'.
Those aged between 16 and 24 bin 3 items on average a week, while those 55 years old and over, typically bin one of items over this period.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were when the most food was binned, compared to the other days of the week.
What's the Government doing?
The Government says it's committed to eliminating food waste from landfill by 2030.