Big Freeze Leaves Lasting Legacy In Glasgow

The people of Glasgow were hit with a snowstorm of facts and advice for reducing food waste when Love Food Hate Waste came to town earlier this year. The event was part of a national campaign designed to educate and inform the general public about making the most of their freezer, and provided a fascinating insight into the foods you can and can’t freeze.

More than 8,000 people from across the UK learned about the importance of reducing food waste at events in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Through interactive games, giveaways and competitions, people of all ages and backgrounds were challenged to make the most of their freezers – and to discover how freezing and defrosting food can help to save money and reduce food waste. 

Emma Marsh, Head of Love Food Hate Waste, said: “This national campaign, across ten cities, made a huge impact on the habits and understanding of the general public.

“We believe that the campaign has enlightened many to the possibilities of freezing. For example, many people didn’t know it was possible to freeze eggs!”

More than 10% of attendees completed a ‘pledge’ form and vowed to change their habits towards wasting less food and drinks.

Almost 50% of the 15 million tonnes of food thrown away in the UK comes from our homes. Together we throw away seven million tonnes of it and more than half could have been eaten.

Buying and then throwing away good food and drink costs us £12.5 billion a year. If we ate it, instead of wasting it, the impact on our environment would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road.