Herefordshire foodbank encouraging people to check their food before throwing it away
Leominster foodbank run a 'food share' using items that are surplus
The Leominster foodbank is encouraging people to use their senses when throwing away food.
Research from charity Too Good To Go has shown 19.4 million food items are wasted every day in the UK, adding up to 135.8 million items a week.
Kathy Bland is volunteer manager at the Leominster foodbank, and says they are working with groups in the community to make sure food isn't going to waste.
"We are not trying to answer the problems of food poverty by doing this, but while there is food waste we don't want to see it going in a skip," Kathy said.
"During COVID, supermarkets started offering us their surplus food which would otherwise be food waste, and because there's been an increase in demand we've been able to start doing that.
"Some people are giving to our food share because they want to stop food waste, so instead of putting it in the bin we're trying to find creative ways to use and distribute the food we're being given."
The research also found that one in four people admit to chucking food past its best before date without checking if it’s actually still edible.