Eat Your Pumpkin

Eat your pumpkin and help to save 95 million meals from the bin this Halloween

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Published: October 29, 2023
This Article was written by: Katie Hill - My Green Pod
food, food waste, Halloween, money, waste

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New research from environmental charity Hubbub predicts a scary 30.43 million pumpkins will be bought for carving this Halloween, of which 15.82 million won’t be eaten.

This is the equivalent of 95 million meals’ worth of pumpkins set to go to waste, worth £26.7 million.

A Halloween survey

The survey of 2,000 UK residents found that of those who celebrate Halloween, more than half (55%) scoop out the pumpkin and carve shapes into the skin.

However, the data suggest 1.9 million households in the UK do not enjoy carving pumpkins.

A third (33%) of these respondents say it’s because they find it a hassle, while the same proportion of people don’t like the mess it creates.

Decorate your pumpkin

Hubbub has launched its annual #EatYourPumpkin campaign, calling on Halloween-lovers to ditch the knife and give decorating a go.

By switching pumpkin carving to decorating, the charity hopes that even more pumpkins will be eaten this Halloween.

‘For 10 years we’ve been inspiring the public to eat their pumpkins at Halloween. This year we’re sharing fun ideas to decorate pumpkins instead of carving them, to help them keep for longer and give people more time to cook them.

‘For those who love to carve their masterpiece, don’t forget those carvings make a great addition to a soup or curry.

‘We’re working with food and art influencers to inspire everybody to decorate and then eat pumpkins, which will save food and money. You can get an average of six meals out of a pumpkin. If everyone cooked their Halloween pumpkins, they’d be saving a combined £26.7 million worth of edible food from going to waste!

‘To inspire even more people to cook their pumpkins, 100 of our community fridges across the UK will be holding special pumpkin events from community meals, to decorate and cook workshops to make this delicious food go further.’

MARK BREEN
Senior creative partner at Hubbub

A green Halloween

Here are Hubbub’s top tips for an environmentally friendly Halloween.

If you’d rather not waste any of your pumpkin, then get creative with your decorating. Think of alternative ways to create a spooky grimace without carving, meaning you can still eat the pumpkin when Halloween celebrations are over! Head to Hubbub’s social media channels for some step-by-step ideas for decorating your pumpkins!
Did you know you can eat almost every part of the pumpkin? In fact, it’s only the stalk that isn’t edible. Head to Hubbub’s Eat Your Pumpkin page for tips on how to use the skin, seeds, guts and flesh of your pumpkins.
One pumpkin can make several meals, why not freeze the bits you don’t want to use straight away and save for a rainy day?
If you don’t like the taste of pumpkin, then why not make your own spooky decorations? From craft sets to window pens to making your own Halloween poster, there are plenty of ways you can decorate for Halloween without using a pumpkin.