New national food waste challenge is launched to help households save up to$200 a month on groceries

As cost-of-living pressures continue to bite, a new national challenge has launched today to help
households take on one of the simplest ways to save money at home: wasting less food.

Research by End Food Waste Australia suggests households are throwing away more than $200
worth of food every month, adding up to around $2,500 a year per household, simply because
food is bought but never eaten.

To help households keep more money in their weekly budget, The Great Unwaste – a national
behaviour change campaign for reducing household food waste – is launching The Food Waste
Challenge as a new, free digital activity open to all Australians.

Developed through behavioural research and tested in a national pilot, The Food Waste
Challenge encourages households to practice seven simple actions to reduce waste and save
money without changing what they buy. These actions include flexible meal planning, storing food the right way and re-imagining meals using leftovers.

Feedback from the pilot was positive, with 99 per cent of participants enjoying the experience, 87 per cent finding the tasks easy, and confidence in knowing how to reduce household food waste increasing from 33 per cent to 80 per cent following the challenge.

CEO of End Food Waste Australia, Tristan Butt, said the challenge is designed to meet
Australians where they are.

“Australians aren’t wasting food on purpose – they’re just busy and juggling work, family and rising costs,” Mr Butt said.

“Although these pressures can sometimes feel locked in, food waste is one area where small,
low-effort changes can deliver fast wins, without cutting back on the foods you love.”

“The challenge shows how a few simple changes during the week can keep hundreds of dollars in household budgets and stop perfectly good food from going to waste.”

The launch comes after the recent release of Finder’s Cost of Living Pressure Gauge,
showing 75% of Australians are feeling stressed about their finances.

The Great Unwaste is encouraging households to take part together, share their progress, and
discover just how much money – and food – can be saved in a single week without changing what they buy or eat.

Households can sign up to the challenge on Welcome to The Great Unwaste — Let’s turn food
waste around to automatically be entered into the draw to win one of three unwasting prize
packs.

**ENDS**

Media Contact

Bonnie Sleeman
Senior Campaign Manager
T: 0422 727 169