Jacob’s has launched the Less Waste More Taste Snackademy, to help families be more resourceful with their snacking and reduce their yearly food waste.
It comes as families are spending over a fifth (21%) of their household food shopping budgets on snacks each week, equaling a total of £1,225 across 1,872 snacks per year.
According to research conducted by the savoury cracker brand, almost half (48%) of British households have the makings of a snack from leftovers in the fridge – resulting in a £409.32 food waste bill per household every year, nearly equivalent to a month’s food shop.
However a fifth (20%) admit they would never think to look in the fridge and use up food already in there when creating a snack.
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With actor and mum Jac Jossa and food waste chef Martyn Odell, the initiative aims to bring together recipes and tips from chefs and foodie influencers to help parents create easy and cost-effective snacks using food they already have in their fridges and cupboards.
It comes as further research revealed that almost half (47%) of UK parents admit to throwing food away which is still edible or able to be eaten safely, despite 53% feeling guilty about it.
The main reasons for this waste are packets being opened for too long (41%) or too much food bought when shopping (33%), meaning it goes out of date before being eaten, as well as people not knowing what to do with their leftover food (25%).
“As a busy mum, there are sometimes moments when it’s easier to grab ready made snacks, especially on a day where the kids are being fussy or want to eat different things,” actor and mum said, Jac Jossa said.
“However, with the help of Jacob’s Snackademy, I’ve learnt some really easy, tasty and quick recipes made from the stuff in the back of the fridge or cupboard that everyone can have up their sleeve.”
Food waste disruptor at The Lagom Chef, Martyn Odell said: “The recipes I’ve created all showcase how, with just a humble cracker, you can quickly knock up fresh and delicious snacks using food you already have at home.
“One of the best ways to fight food waste is to be more resourceful with the food you have, the Jacob’s Snackademy snacks are a great way to use up all those little bits and bobs leftover in your fridge that you may not know what to do with and so often throw away,” Odell commented.
“At Jacob’s we’re on a mission to help families achieve Less Waste and deliver More Taste by showing how they can turn food which would otherwise go to waste, into delicious snacks,” senior brand manager at Jacob’s, Kate Stokes said.
She added: “The Less Waste, More Taste Snackademy is just one way in which we’re helping families to bring more taste to their daily snacks and supports our partnership with FareShare to redistribute the equivalent of 40,000 meals to help fight hunger.”
Jacob’s has also partnered with food waste charity FareShare, the UK’s largest charity fighting food waste and hunger, to redistribute the equivalent of 40,000 meals. The collaboration will help fight hunger across the charity’s network of nearly 9,500 charities and community organisations across the UK.
Last month, it was announced that M&S commercial director of food, George Wright will be joining FareShare as its next CEO.
