Our Campaign Lead, Toby Butland, took part in the Every Bite pilot study and hasn’t looked back.
Earlier this year, Wastebusters’ Campaign Lead Toby took part in the pilot study for Every Bite, a food appreciation movement designed to help households become more food resourceful, with the aim of reducing household food waste across Aotearoa by 10%. His verdict on the programme? It’s a game changer.
During the four week programme, Toby and his whānau measured their food waste daily, set up an “eat me first” shelf in their fridge, got creative with their meals, and prioritised their soon-to-perish items.
Half-eaten lunch box fruit turned up time and again but, rather than simply throwing this straight into the compost as he used to, Toby started chopping up the leftover fruit and freezing it for a healthy smoothie. “The thing with Every Bite,” says Toby, “is it’s really not rocket science, it’s just common sense. It’s easy to think that you’re pretty good when it comes to food waste, but when you’re looking daily at what could have been eaten but hasn’t been, you start making small changes quickly that make all the difference.”
Another easy win for Toby’s household was creating a dedicated shelf in their fridge for eat-first items. Salad stayed fresh, carrots were still crunchy, and leftovers weren’t, well, left over, but were actually eaten.
“Being more food resourceful didn’t take much and we had a lot of fun along the way. We got creative with our meals, involved our kids and connected with the other participants within the Every Bite Facebook group, which was a great way to share ideas and recipes during the programme.”
Best of all? These changes are now just part of how they do things. “The habits we formed during Every Bite have stayed with us. Once you realise how much more resourceful you can be – and how much you can save on your grocery bills with very little effort – you don’t look back.”
Every Bite is a four-week programme that consists of two in-person events, with some easy tasks for you to carry out at home. It begins on Monday 29th April at 6pm at the Lake Wānaka Centre where you’ll be told all about the programme, learn practical tips to keep on top of your grocery shop with minimal waste and receive all the resources you’ll need for the four weeks.
