WRAP to trailblaze a week of action in March 2021 to ‘wake the nation up’ to the environmental consequences of wasting food
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has announced that the inaugural ‘Food Waste Action Week’ will run Monday 1 to Sunday 7 March 2021 and bring together organisations from retailers to local authorities, restaurants to manufacturers and beyond. WRAP will work with a variety of partners to show that wasted food is an issue that affects everyone – and the planet. Wasted food contributes 8-10% of total man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while roughly one third of food produced around the world is wasted.
Since the landmark Courtauld Commitment (2005) and Love Food Hate Waste (2007) the UK’s annual food waste has reduced from 11.2 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes. WRAP is reinforcing its work in citizen food waste prevention, which will be a key focus for the Food Waste Action Week.
The climate emergency continues to matter to UK citizens, meaning that partners have a crucial opportunity to support the Food Waste Action Week and appeal to people’s hearts and minds. Reaching citizens of all ages with this message is essential for creating lasting change and reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goal of halving food waste by 2030.
The Week will also focus on the Hospitality and Food Service sector, looking at what changes they can implement to ensure as little food as possible is thrown away. Building on the success of the 2019 Stand Up For Food month the week of action will shine a light on how Hospitality and Food Service businesses across the UK can reduce the 1.1 million tonnes of food wasted annually – a almost unbelievably, much of which comes from food ordered but not eaten!
The WRAP CEO said: “The climate crisis remains one of the biggest and most urgent challenges facing humanity and wasted food is a significant contribution to climate change, something we need to address together. WRAP has the data and research to demonstrate the reality of the issue – what we need is for partners to get this date in the diary, and join us in the Food Waste Action Week activities to make wasting food a thing of the past. WRAP encourages any partners who are interested in taking part in the Food Waste Action Week to get in touch to discuss the plans for this ground-breaking, cross-industry event.
Food is a precious resource; working together, we can prevent it being needlessly wasted and protect the planet. So local pubs and restaurants, please get engaged!
GreenChew 