Having just returned from doing a pre-Christmas grocery shop at Coles I am left wondering just how big the average Australian Christmas get-together is. If the groaning shopping trollies, piled high with fresh produce, meat and seafood, soft drinks and mixers, Christmas cakes and chockies, and deli goods of all descriptions, are anything to go by, most people out there are obviously expecting to have to feed literally dozens of people between now and when the shops reopen after Christmas. (Umm, isn’t that Boxing Day?)
Or is it that our collective eyes (I’ll include myself in this because I did come home with a few treats I wouldn’t normally buy, “just in case” friends drop in) are bigger than our festive bellies? No one wants to be seen to be to be less than generous but is such overabundance really necessary?
According to action group Do Something, Australians will spend about $7.9 billion on food in December, with about 20% of it destined for the bin. While food waste is a problem all year round (see my post from October 20, Waste Not, Want Not to read more) a poll commissioned by the group found that 60% of Aussies admitted they waste more food than usual at Christmas. Not only is it a terrible waste of money, it’s a waste of the resources that went in to producing the food, and it’s bad for the environment (rotting food in landfill is a major source of the greenhouse gas methane).
This year, Do Something has launched the first ever National Leftovers Day on Boxing Day, which aims to raise awareness of food waste, help people save money and help the environment. As part of the campaign, Australians will be asked to be conscious of leftovers and to freeze them or turn them into additional meals, rather than throw them away. The organisation’s Food Waste website has tips on proper storage as well as lots of recipe ideas for festive favourites such as ham, turkey, smoked salmon and Christmas pud.
Personally I can never go past a Turkey sandwich on Boxing Day. Mmmm...
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