Food waste campaign supported by Severn Trent’s Community Fund has massive impact
A campaign launched by Shrewsbury Food Hub to urge families to change their habits and reduce food waste has been a massive success, with the message reaching thousands of people.
Shrewsbury Food Heroes - Taste with No Waste campaign was launched by the hub in 2022 thanks to funding of £20,000 from Severn Trent’s Community Fund and families have seen big benefits.
As part of the initiative, the Taste with No Waste Challenge went ahead with the aim of motivating families, and providing them with as much information as possible to reduce their food waste.
The target was to get more than 1,000 families in Shrewsbury involved and after just four months of the challenge going live, 1,037 families had signed up.
A social media campaign was also set up by the group, along with hosting presentations and demonstrations, and training 10 good food ambassadors to work with a whole host of community groups to make sure that campaign information was spread everywhere.
The hub also teamed up with a local chef to create and share recipes and upskill their community partners to spread the word, and all the work combined helped to get the food waste message out to more than 12,000 people.
Tammy Bloodworth, Shrewsbury Food Hub manager, said: “Tackling climate change can be overwhelming but there are things we can all do to make a difference. Reducing our food waste at home is one way. By not wasting food, we offset the embedded carbon associated with growing, transporting, processing, and storing it.
“This campaign aimed to raise awareness of the issue and inspire people to do their bit. Our whole approach has been upbeat and positive – creating deliciousness, saving people money and bringing people together over shared food. We are made up by what we have achieved and will continue to spread the Taste with No Waste message. Massive thanks to Severn Trent for the funding, and for their support during the campaign. They have been brilliant.”
Shrewsbury Food Hub’s vision is a community where food is valued and not wasted – they redistribute surplus food and promote food waste reduction in Shropshire for environmental and social good.
In addition to this project, last year the Severn Trent Community Fund awarded a further six projects across Shropshire with over £130,000 worth of funding.
Jade Gough, Severn Trent Community Fund Officer, said: “The work that Shrewsbury Food Hub is doing is hugely important and to see the impact the campaign has had is absolutely amazing.
“It’s inspiring to see so many people getting involved and working with the hub to make positive changes, reducing the amount of food waste that they generate but also learning new recipes and tips to help them save money along the way. Everyone at Shrewsbury Food Hub is so passionate about what they do, and we’re thrilled to have been able to support them.
“We are always looking for more local new projects in the regions in which we work which would benefit from grant funding and would encourage anyone who may be applicable to get in touch.”
Those who took part in the Taste with No Waste Challenge also saw their food waste reduced by 77 per cent, and on average, there was a £4.30 saving per household per week and an estimated 15,300kg reduction in the amount of food wasted.
Behaviours were changed along the way including checking the cupboard and fridge before shopping, which made the biggest difference to the amount of food people threw away.
Other changes included labelling food items to go in the freezer, adjusting fridge temperatures, understanding date labels, and gaining confidence about portions and food storage tips to extend the life of perishable foods.
Severn Trent was the official Nature and Carbon Neutral supporter for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and as part of this, the Community Fund was temporarily re-focused in Spring 2022 to support projects that specifically reduce carbon and help communities care for nature.
Awards are normally decided by an independent Customer Panel, but for the re-focused round to support the Games a gold, silver and bronze award theme was used, and applications went out to a public vote to all customers. Shrewsbury Food Hub was one of the gold winners, after receiving huge public support for their project.
For more information on the Severn Trent Community Fund and to find out how to make an application visit stwater.co.uk and search for Community Fund.
