What is the Food Waste Challenge?

December 15th 2010

The Food Waste Challenge (Challenge) is a tried and tested food waste avoidance program developed by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) in partnership with the Office of Environment and Heritage through the Love Food Hate Waste program.

The Challenge was designed in response to research findings from a study of 1,200 households in NSW commissioned by OEH in December 2009. This research was commissioned to better understand community knowledge, attitudes and behaviours about household food waste. A key outcome of this research was the identification of the financial impact of food waste in NSW. By wasting food that could otherwise be eaten, the average NSW household throws away $1036 a year. Across NSW, this totals $2.5 billion annually!

In addition to OEH findings, waste audits have been completed by local governments across NSW. This quantitative research showed that more than 800,000 tonnes of food is thrown away by NSW householders each year. This equates to 315 kilograms of food waste for each household going to landfill or 38 per cent of the kerbside garbage bin (by weight).

Food waste not only has an economic impact, but also an environmental impact, as wasting food wastes water, energy, natural resources and contributes to the generation of methane in landfill - a potent greenhouse gas.

The Challenge is a behaviour change program which educates households on how to reduce the amount of edible food wasted every day. Its aim is to build the skills and capacity of individuals through a series of practical workshops on the important topics of buying food, cooking food and storing food. The Challenge ultimately helps households reduce the amount of food they waste, saving households money, whilst also helping the environment.

Contact the NCC today to run a Food Waste Challenge in your LGA today!

NSW Government

A successful model for delivering environmental education

The Challenge was piloted and successfully delivered in the City of Sydney LGA between May – September 2010. It was enthusiastically received and delivered positive environmental and community building outcomes.

Evaluation of the Challenge was conducted at the end of each workshop and the key successes of the Challenge were as follows:

Ninety eight participants registered for the Challenge and all participants received information on the environmental and economic impacts of food waste, and practical tips on how to reduce the amount of food they waste
From each workshop, participants knowledge on food waste topics was improved
Ninety eight percent of participants felt that the workshops had given them the knowledge and the skills to go and put into place in their daily lives what they had learnt from the workshops
Thirteen participants elected to become “Food Waste Champions” and stated that they wanted to help educate more people about food waste in their community.

Some of the feedback received from participants includes:

“Just wanted to say thanks for the Food Waste workshops. I think it's a wonderful community initiative you've started and I do hope it receives the support you need to roll it out to more councils. I have personally benefited from the workshops, they've made me more aware of my food consumption and waste.”

“The Food Waste Challenge is an excellent community initiative, overall well done. I feel that it would be great to roll this program out to more people.”

As a successful model for delivering education about the issue of food waste in NSW, the Challenge is now being implemented in other local government areas across NSW.

How the Challenge works

The Challenge will be delivered over a period of four months. During this time, a launch event and three workshops will take place. The NCC will deliver an evaluation report to Council four weeks after the final workshop. An explanation of the launch event, workshops and outcomes are discussed in further detail below.

Launch Event

The NCC will hold a stall at a local farmers market or community event to promote the Challenge, allow people to register for the Challenge and inform people about food waste. This will be the launch of the Food Waste Challenge program and it will take place about one month before the Challenge workshops are scheduled to commence.

Community members will also be able to register online and by phone. A dedicated page on the NCC website will be established so community members can register online as well as by phoning a number provided.

We would ask that Councils help promote the Challenge through including the Challenge in their e-newsletters, on their website and in mayoral columns in local papers.

The aim is to get 100 people from the community to register for the Challenge and commit to the 3 workshops held throughout the Challenge.

Workshops

From research conducted on food waste behaviours, it found that on average in NSW, households waste $1036 of edible food per year. The research shows that people waste food for the following reasons:

people buy too much food
people cook too much food
people store food incorrectly

The three workshops we run will focus on these topics and be practical in nature so people can learn everyday tips to waste less food. The order of the workshops will be as follows:

Workshop 1:An explanation of the environmental and economic impacts of food waste, shopping and menu planning

Workshop 2:Looking at cooking with correct portion sizes, how to cook leftovers and what staples to have stored in your fridge, cupboard and freezer

Workshop 3: How to store food correctly and preserving seasonal and surplus food

Evaluation will be conducted at the end of each workshop. An evaluation report will be delivered four weeks after the final workshop.

Three workshops will be run (one every month) from 6 – 8pm during the week and dates of workshops will be decided in advance so participants know these dates on registration so child care and other arrangements can be made.

The workshops will be held at a local community centre or similar which is easily accessible by people in the community. The local council or community group will be responsible for paying for the venue hire for the three workshops.

Developing Food Waste Champions

The ultimate objective of the Challenge is to create a more sustainable community. To do this, we would encourage participants of the Challenge to become “Food Waste Champions” after the workshops and educate their friends, family and community about what they have learnt and the actions which can be taken at home and work to reduce food waste.

All participants who are interested in becoming a Food Waste Champion will be contacted after the last workshop and given a “how to” booklet on the facts, tips and information discussed and shared in three workshops of the Challenge. Participants will also be guided on ways in which they can use the information contained in the booklet to educate others on food waste.

Cost

The Challenge costs $8,000 plus GST to implement in your community (extra travel money may be required if your Council is a long way out of Sydney and will involve a flight to get there).

This cost includes the NCC being responsible for running and organising the following:

the launch event and the workshops
any materials such as posters advertising the Challenge, the “how to” guide for Food Waste Champions, and information handed out to participants at the workshops and the launch
developing the evaluation report
encouraging registrations by setting up an online page and phone line.

The Council will be responsible for: