Food waste is a major issue both in New Zealand and across the world and Best Foods is helping Kiwis to take on the challenge of reducing food waste to save money and the planet.

• The average Kiwi family throws out $1,520* worth of food each year or approximately three shopping trolleys of food
• Approximately 157,389 tonnes of food are going into landfill in New Zealand every year – that is equivalent to 271 jumbo jets of food that must go somewhere to rot, instead of being eaten
• As a nation, we waste $3.1 billion a year on food that we buy and then throw away uneaten
• Encouraging children to eat their sandwiches for afternoon tea is an easy way to prevent 1,430 tonnes of sandwiches going to landfill every year
• Each year, Kiwis throw away 29 million loaves of bread
• It turns out a scoop of chips in New Zealand is too big, with 2,755 tonnes of takeaway chips being thrown out each year

Best Foods have been playing a role in encouraging consumers to reduce their food waste in New Zealand through education and empowerment and this year they are partnering with the Vodafone Warriors and Love Food Hate Waste to create “The Best Foods Food Waste Warriors” campaign. Using the star power of the Vodafone Warriors, this campaign aims to educate its audience as to how and why New Zealanders waste a tremendous amount of food through a content series that challenges consumers to take up a food waste education programme, informed by the expertise of Love Food Hate Waste.

The campaign details simple behavioural changes and tips anyone can incorporate into everyday life to lighten their footprint, save money, and feed mouths not bins. The food waste eco-system is completed by the community-led Pataka Kai initiative which invites those with surplus food to share this through the neighbourhood open pantry initiative – take what your need, leave what you can.

“It is quite possible for Kiwi families to prevent the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food being sent to landfill as most of this food can actually be eaten rather than being thrown out. Not only is wasting food costing us money, but it is also bad for the environment. New Zealanders could learn a lot of valuable information from this campaign to step up and take charge of their food waste” says Gel Lim of Love Food Hate Waste

A big part of reducing food waste is directing surplus food into our communities that can take advantage of it. Last year Best Foods provided some grass-roots support to Pataka Kai, creating awareness through social activity and providing Best Foods mayonnaise and other food staples to about 100 pantries around Northland and Auckland region. This year Best Foods is building on this support and further integrating the Pataka Kai movement into its Food Waste Warriors campaign to continue helping households to reduce food waste and save money and the planet in the process.

Nabomita Bagchi, Head of Marketing at Unilever International, commented “We know how well a lick of Best Foods mayonnaise can help bring some life to ‘left behinds’, or disparate ingredients, we are delighted to play a small part in helping Kiwi’s reduce their food waste, save some dollars, and feed tummies rather than bins”

Here are 5 simple money and planet savings behaviours you can adopt in your everyday life to help reduce food waste.

1. Make a meal plan: it all starts with what you buy and planning your meals encourages you to only buy what you need, resulting in a sure-fire way to reduce the amount of food that ends up in the bin.
2. Leftovers: Cooking once? Eat twice! With a little bit of creativity, you can turn your leftovers into something even better the second time around.
3. Storage: Smart storage extends the life of your food, keeping it out of the bin.
4. Compost: composting your food scraps (and other things like leaves and shredded paper) is a great way to return nutrients to your soil.
5. Pataka Kai: If you have more food than you are able to eat, feed tummies not bins. Offer your excess fruit to your neighbours, take the rest of that cake into work for your colleagues, donate items to your local food bank or drop it off to a local Pataka Kai.

To discover Best Foods full list of recipe creations and tips and tricks to reduce your food waste go to www.bestfoods.co.nz and sign up for the consumer challenge.

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About Best Foods

Best Foods Mayonnaise has been around since 1913 after being established in New York City. With a blend of perfection and a flair for innovation, founders Richard & Margaret Hellmann did everything they could to create the perfect mayonnaise. The mayonnaise recipe they created in their New York deli, more than 100 years ago, has been a fan favourite ever since. Unilever acquired the Best Foods brand in 2000 and have continued to distribute the brand worldwide to loyal Best Foods fans, including here in New Zealand where it is the number one mayonnaise brand. Best Foods believes that good food doesn’t have to cost the earth, creating mayonnaise from simple ingredients to deliver the best possible taste. Best Foods mayonnaise is made with 100 percent cage free-eggs and real ingredients sourced from trusted American farms.

About Love Food Hate Waste

• Inspired by the Love Food Hate Waste campaign in the UK, LFHW founders undertook some research to find out if household food waste was a problem in Aotearoa.
• Turns out, food waste is a problem, with the average Kiwi family throwing away three shopping trolleys of edible food each year.
• In order to reduce the amount of food going to waste (and the vast financial and environmental costs associated with it) WasteMINZ partnered with 60 councils and community groups and the Ministry for the Environment to deliver Love Food Hate Waste in Aotearoa from 2016-2018.
• Love Food Hate Waste is now founded by councils and resourced by WasteMINZ.

About Pātaka Kai

The (Pātaka Kai) Open Street Pantry Movement is a resident led, grassroots, crowd sourced solution to immediate and local need, rescuing food and encouraging the co-sharing between neighbours to strengthen communities. Whether a need for food or a need to give, the Open Street Pantry Movement facilitates neighbours helping neighbours, building community. All street pātaka (pantries) are stocked organically. Kai has a role of nourishing whanau tinana and wairua, while reducing stress and promoting the values of koha and manaaki. We are committed to promoting Community Empowerment, supporting the growth of the many assets that already exist in our communities within residents, enabling Inter-generational connectedness and turning strangers into neighbours. With over 242 opened pantries and 13 in construction, we are continuing to grow and support our community.

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