One third of the food we buy ends up in the bin costing the average housholder €1,000 a year, that is according to the StopFoodWaste Campaign which will have its own stall at this year’s Galway Food Festival providing members of the public with all they need to know about food waste and creative ways to be more economical.
The stall is being organised by the Galway City Council, in conjunction with the Galway County Council, and is part of the national environment campaign StopFoodWaste which aims to raise awareness on food waste and reduce the amount of brown waste going to the landfills.
The Galway Food Festival takes place during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend - from Thursday March 28, to Monday April 1 - and promises to be jam-packed with fantastic food and free, family-friendly, events keeping foodies entertained and informed.
As many of us would know, there are times when we tend to get over exited and buy far too much, resulting in food being wasted and thrown in the bin, this is where the StopFoodWaste stall comes in, providing visitors with more knowledge so that this can be prevented, or at least reduced.
Sinead Johnstone, executive engineer with the Galway City Council environment section, spoke about what visitors can expect at the stall. “There will be tips on how to reduce food waste. A lot of the problem is that we tend to buy too much and then there’s the two for one offers in supermarkets when usually we only need to buy one item. There will be information on how to get the best use of products in the fridge as well as advice on home composting.
“We’re trying to make people more aware of food they throw out. The more you buy the more you waste. The campaign is about diverting waste from landfill and that’s a good thing for the environment.”
A number of chefs from restaurants throughout Galway were approached and asked to come up with recipes that utilise common leftover items. Ms Johnstone explained that these recipes are currently being collected and will be presented together in a booklet that will be available at the stall during the Galway Food Festival and afterwards by downloading the booklet from the Galway City Council website.
“We’re getting the different chefs on board, getting them to think of different ways for householders to use leftovers. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they come up with,” said Ms Johnstone who added that a number of these creative recipes will be showcased during a cooking demostration which will be held at the festival cooking demostration tent - see galwayfoodfestival.com for further details. Visitors to the stall will also receive a free rice or pasta/spaghetti measure which will help ensure that the days of being left with a big pot of leftovers are a thing of the past.
For more information on the national Stop Food Waste campaign log onto www.stopfoodwaste.ie
