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OLIO, the community sharing app, is encouraging its community to create meals from Christmas leftovers to share with neighbours who need it.
The UK will waste millions of meals this Christmas, yet one million children in the UK will go without a warm home or fresh food this December.
Founded on the success of two community campaigns run earlier this year, where more than 25,000 meals were shared via its #Cook4Kids and #Cook4Carers schemes, OLIO is asking its users to #Cook4Kindness and use their leftovers for good.
This year enough potatoes will be thrown away in UK homes to make Christmas Day roasties for the whole country for 48 years, according to Love Food Hate Waste.
The amount of poultry thrown away is enough to make 800 million Boxing Day curries – when the items could be easily adapted to create nutritious meals for children or those struggling over the festive period.
Working in partnership with Love Food Hate Waste, OLIO has shared a range of recipes https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes that can be made with leftover vegetables or Christmas meats, including bubble and squeak, sprout and cheese gratin and chocolate bundt cake.
‘Christmas can often be a difficult time of year, but it is also a time when communities come together.
‘The OLIO community has really risen to the challenge this year: feeding children when free school meals were suspended, and creating nutritious and comforting meals for exhausted key workers at the height of the pandemic.‘We knew they would want to step up again this December and provide some kindness from their doorstep. That’s why we’ve launched #Cook4Xmas / #Cook4Kids, to turn leftovers into meals people need, while protecting the planet from food waste and the dangerous greenhouse gases that go with it.’
TESSA CLARKE
Co-founder at OLIO
OLIO is best known for its work tackling food waste, but has since developed into a wider community sharing app.
It allows users to give away unwanted items from around the home, from food to furniture and clothes to cookware. Over 2 million people have joined OLIO, and 5.5 million items have been shared in 52 countries worldwide.
‘There are so many wonderful ways to use up our Christmas food favourites, creating delicious meals with the added benefit of keeping good food out of the bin. Whether turkey curry or veg fritters are your leftover meal of choice, each time you use up the bits and pieces from Christmas Day that didn’t get eaten you are saving money as well as looking after the environment. Try our recipes hub if you need a bit of inspiration!’
HELEN WHITE
Special adviser at Love Food Hate Waste
Click here to discover the nation’s best leftover food recipes.
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