Wastebusters has launched a four-week programme designed to help locals monitor their food waste, keep on top of the contents of their fridge, and make use of every bite before it spoils.

It is one of four Zero Waste Network Aotearoa regional hubs selected to help co-design and deliver ‘Every Bite’, which has a goal of reducing food waste across the country by 10 percent.

Wastebusters campaign lead Toby Butland is encouraging local households to take part.

“Every Bite is a fantastic programme to help households see how small tweaks and changes to their habits can drastically reduce the amount of food waste that they generate, saving grocery costs in the process,” he said.

According to Love Food Hate Waste, New Zealand households throw away more than 157,000 tonnes of edible food every year.

“That’s enough to feed everyone in the Upper Clutha region for more than 20 years,” Toby said.

Toby said he took part in the pilot Every Bite programme and saw the benefits for himself.

“It’s easy and takes no time at all. Seeing what our food waste was made up of was a real eye opener.

“As a household, we became more creative and mindful in our cooking and food portioning, and we saw a marked reduction in both our shopping bill and our food waste. 

“The changes we made over the four-week programme have just become the norm for us now.”

Every Bite participants will receive resources, ideas and recipes to keep their household on track and they will have access to a Facebook group where they can share their progress and ideas with other participants, ask questions, discuss challenges and celebrate the wins made along the way.

It will begin with an in-person event at Lake Wānaka Centre on April 29 at 6pm, where Dripping Bowl owner and zero waste champion Evelyn Vallilee will offer up industry tips to reduce spoilage, ideas for recipe substitutes, and provide participants with some tasty treats to get the programme under way.

“We know communities in the region care about minimising their waste throughout their households and we’re really looking forward to helping people move toward greater food resourcefulness,” Toby said.

The programme costs $10, with all proceeds going to local food recovery charity Kiwi Harvest. 

Registration can be made on Humanitix or via the Wastebusters website.

PHOTO: Orla Ó Muiri