Love Food Hate Waste is launching the Eat Me First campaign today, a bold and innovative initiative designed to tackle food waste in Aotearoa by turning awareness into behaviour change.

Food going off before it can be finished and before ‘use by’ and ‘best before dates’ are the top reasons for food waste with bread, leftovers and fruit and vegetables listed as the top three most wasted items.

This campaign will drive home the financial and environmental impact of this waste, and offer practical solutions including Eat Me First reusable stickers — a visual prompt to remind people of food that needs to be eaten first, the sticker is a simple and effective tool to reduce waste.

Wellington City Council’s Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon supports the Love Food Hate Waste goal of reducing household food waste by 50 percent by 2030, and hopes this sticky solution will save households money and cut back on food waste ending up at landfills.

“The mahi done by Love Food Hate Waste aligns with our Food Action Plan, which is part of Te Atakura First to Zero framework and the Tūpiki Ora strategy.

“Combined, we have a coordinated approach to addressing food resilience and sustainability – but stopping food waste starts at home.

“We are considering kerbside organic collections, but that’s an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff – we want food waste to be dramatically reduced before it even gets to that stage.”

At its core, the Eat Me First Reusable stickers seek to instil a culture of mindfulness and conscientiousness when it comes to food consumption and storage in Kiwi households, says Love Food Hate Waste NZ’s Juno Scott-Kelly.

“Helping Kiwis to identify what food needs to be eaten first, our reusable Eat Me First stickers should be placed on a shelf in your fridge or pantry to highlight what items need to be eaten before they go mouldy or have to be thrown out.”

By actively identifying and consuming items that are closest to expiration, have been left-over from another meal or opened and left uneaten, individuals could save upwards of $1,510 a year according to Love Food Hate Waste NZ.

“With food price inflation hitting a rate that has not been seen in 30 years in the middle of 2023, we know Kiwi families are hurting the most when it comes to their grocery bills,” says Juno.

“The reusable Eat Me First Sticker has been designed to help reduce the cost and waste from the food we purchase.

“Not only will reducing food waste benefit the environment as we decrease methane emissions from landfills, but it would save New Zealanders around $3.2 billion a year,” adds Juno.

Stickers are available for free from Monday 22 April until end of May 2024. They can be ordered from the Love Food Hate Waste NZ website lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz or picked up from selected local libraries and community centres in Pōneke, and in selected Woolworths stores around the country while stocks last.

Kiwis can also learn simple hacks and tricks to make the most of their food by keeping up with Council’s and Love Food Hate Waste NZ on social media and through events happening around the city and the motu throughout May.

Find out more here: www.lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/eat-me-first

Food Waste Facts:

• The average Wellingtonian throws out 3.2kg of food per week, which adds up to 30,000 tonnes of food scraps going to landfill each year, the same weight as 62 jumbo jets!
• Wellingtonians spend almost $600 a year per household on uneaten food that goes to landfill.
• More than $543 million worth of fruit, vegetables and meat from Kiwi households every year.
• $62 Million worth of bread from Kiwi households every year.
• $290 million worth of fruit and vegetables from Kiwi households every year.
• $191 million worth of meat from Kiwi households every year.
• Food waste accounts for approximately 409,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in New Zealand annually.

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