7 ways to reduce Christmas food waste – especially if you now have too much in the fridge
Facing a festive food surplus? Here's what to do
With a variety of restrictions in place meaning many of us can’t have the family gatherings we’d hoped for this Christmas, you may suddenly be wondering what you’re going to do with the mountains of meat, veggies and sweet treats you’ve bought.
Leftover turkey sandwiches are usually part of the festive fun, but attempting to polish off an entire bird that would usually feed eight people? Not so fun when you’re on day seven of your poultry-only diet.
That doesn’t mean you have to throw away all those yummy seasonal supplies, however. Here are seven ways to reduce food waste this Christmas…
1. Plan carefully
Just because it’s Christmas Day doesn’t mean you have to go ahead with dinner and all the trimmings like you usually would. By scaling back on the festive menu, you’re less likely to end up with tupperware full of uneaten dishes.
Instead, choose to freeze some of the food you’ve bought to eat at a later date. If you’ve got enough space you could even joint and freeze the turkey to roast at a belated Christmas dinner when family gatherings are allowed again, and eat something smaller instead.
2. Freeze what you can’t eat
You might be surprised how many Christmas dishes can be frozen and enjoyed later. If you planned on having a big cheese board but don’t think you’ll be able to munch all that cheddar and stilton because it goes off, why not grate and freeze the cheese? That way you can defrost and use it bit by bit.
Love Food Hate Waste has more advice on what can be frozen and how.
3. Get creative with leftovers
Turkey sandwiches aren’t the only option for spare meat, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Why not try a spicy Thai-style turkey noodle soup or layer your veggies in a tasty lasagne? See our Ideas for Boxing Day Leftovers.
4. Share with your neighbours
Sharing is caring, as they say, and you might not have to go far to find a grateful recipient for that gluten-free Christmas pud your sister requested or the bags of nibbles your nephews would have devoured.
If you’ve got a Facebook group or Nextdoor page for your street, you could post a pic or message to see if anyone wants to snap up your spare edibles, but be sure to follow social distancing guidelines when arranging any exchanges.
5. Try a food sharing app
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If you don’t know a lot of people in the vicinity, this food sharing app lets you offer up goods for others in the local area. With Olio you post details of what you’re offering and set a pick-up location (it could be your home or a public place), then you’ll be notified when you have a request from someone.
6. Donate to food banks
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Non-perishable, in-date goods can be donated to food banks, which will then be sorted by volunteers and given to people in need. Visit the Trussell Trust website to find your nearest foodbank donation point in the UK, or Crosscare for locations in Ireland.
7. Contribute to community projects
For fresh food, you can donate to one of more than 100 community fridges across the UK. Visit the Hubbub website to find your nearest location.
Since the pandemic began, thousands of mutual aid groups have cropped up, coordinating volunteering efforts to help people in need, which in some areas includes providing food or meals. Visit the Covid-19 Mutual Aid website to find your local group and see if your festive food extras and leftovers could be put to good use.
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