Picnic Rescue
The Picnic Rescue project was part of Sainsbury's Waste less, Save more project in Swadlincote. It's aim was to help everyone keep picnic food safe to eat for longer, reducing the amount that ends up in the bin or gets composted. We hope you find the outcomes of the project useful for your own picnics!
We have researched what types of food are wasted most often after picnics and the reasons this happened.
The main picnic food problems to try and avoid -especially if kids are involved:
- food getting squashed - people seem less keen to eat it and if you take it home it doesnt keep as well as it would have done before it was flattened (like a banana).
- food getting too warm - especially on a hot day, cheese can melt and things like yoghurts, meats, fish, rice risk being unsafe to eat
- taking too much - and then by the time you get home the leftovers might not be safe to save and eat later. Include some food in your picnic that won't go to waste if left uneaten, like a box of crackers.
- kids not wanting to eat sandwiches if there were other types of food to eat. No surprises there!
The results helped us to create a leaflet (pdf, 1.7mb) giving advice about portion sizes, food safety and interesting alternatives to traditional picnic food.
As part of the project, we obtained a selection of storage solutions to help people keep their food fresher for longer. These include cool bags, ice packs, hard and soft fruit cases, bag clips, lunch bags and plastic containers split into compartments.
100 packs of the storage products were given to local people to try. They were asked to report back on how their summer picnics and work packed lunches went.
More than 90% said that the project had saved over 75% of the food they might otherwise have thrown away. People also said that their families enjoyed using the products and there were unexpected benefits such as encouraging fussy eaters to enjoy their food.
The project attracted national attention when it was given a Green Apple Environmental Award, winning gold in the food and drink category.
For details of the storage products and suppliers please email the Environmental Education Project team at rosliston@southderbyshire.gov.uk
Ideas about making picnic food last longer and on how to use up are on the Waste less, Save more Facebook page.
The dedicated Love Food Hate Waste / Preventing food waste website features a whole range of recipes and food-wasting tips for those keen to get involved.
