Gander to support Food Waste Action Week urging us to buy loose fruit and veg

Gander has announced it is supporting Love Food Hate Waste’s Food Waste Action Week running until 23 March.

Food Waste Action Week is the flagship annual event delivered by global environmental action NGO Wrap’s Love Food Hate Waste. The campaign helps households develop the tools they need to cut food waste at home. This year, it will continue to focus on raising awareness of the benefits of buying loose fruit and veg.

With food waste costing on average £1,000 for a household of four every year, Food Waste Action Week will help shoppers to save money and waste less food by shopping for loose produce.

Wrap’s research has identified the potential to reduce household food waste by removing the packaging on uncut fresh fruit and veg, enabling us to buy closer to our needs as well as the ‘bonus’ benefit of eliminating a significant amount of unnecessary packaging.

Wrap recently called for a packaging ban on 21 fruit and veg items, to be developed via a formal consultation process. This recommendation has been created in consultation with industry stakeholders from across the supply chain. Selling these 21 items loose has the potential to save in the region of 100,000 tonnes of edible fruit and vegetables from being wasted annually in people’s homes as well as saving 13,000 tonnes of plastic film.

Jackie Bailey, senior campaign manager at Love Food Hate Waste, said: “We know buying loose fruit and veg has the potential to significantly cut the amount of food ending up in the bin. Now is the time for retailers and shoppers to make that a reality. Increasing loose fruit and veg offerings in store will not only reduce hard to recycle plastics, it will also enable shoppers to buy closer to their needs, slashing waste and stopping tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions.”

Stacey Williams, business development director at Gander, said: “Gander continues to lead the charge in reducing food waste by providing retailers with innovative tools to highlight reduced-to-clear food items in real-time. By using our SaaS technology platform, stores can not only cut waste but also bring in new shoppers, improve margins, and support their local communities.”