Christmas is over and now is a time for many to reflect on the impact of the festivities on bank balances and waist lines. It is in this spirit of relatively sober reflection that New Year resolutions will be stringently set only to be quietly dropped before January ends. But perhaps there is one resolution to which it might be worth sticking.
Nearly three quarters of us will have struggled to eat all the food bought for the festive season. Across the UK 2 million turkeys and 74 million mince pies will have been binned costing us money and harming the environment. This staggering number could be drastically cut if food that would have been wasted is frozen. Independent research has shown that the average family could save £250 a year and cut food waste by half through freezing leftovers.
Polling undertaken by the charity Hubbub UK discovered that the freezer is the Siberia in the kitchen. Over half the people polled told us that a lack of freezer room drives further food wastage. But 55% of those who do freeze food forget about it. Two-fifths of people were unsure what they could freeze and how long it is safe to keep something frozen.
In response to the results, Hubbub is today launching Festive Freeze urging us to fall in love with the freezer which could play a major role in helping to cut food waste in the UK.
The campaign dispels the five main freezer myths setting out what it is and is not safe to freeze, the costs of running a freezer and the impact on nutrition. A mass of celebrity chefs including Mark Hix, Tom Aikens, Leon and Jack Munroe have provided inspiring recipes transforming that tired turkey and stodgy sprout into a tantalising meal that can be frozen ready to fight off the January blues.
In a chestnutshell Festive Freeze aims to help households save money and stamp out the absurdity of food waste. But it is not just households that can benefit from the campaign. Across the UK the prize for cutting food waste is considerable as it is estimated that a concerted effort could prevent £30billion tonnes of food being wasted by 2025.
Given this wider benefit a New Year resolution to freeze food before it is wasted might be a worth making as it will benefit your pocket and not hit the planet too hard.