Food Waste Action Week: History, Facts & Insights

This is an in-depth look at all the must-know facts about Food Waste Action Week (2024) 🗓️ that no one tells you about. Food Waste Action Week is celebrated on March 6th.

Among the information you’ll find below: the history of Food Waste Action Week, activities to do on and how to observe this holiday, as well as fun facts you should know about Food Waste Action Week.

📅 What day is Food Waste Action Week 2024?

In 2024, Food Waste Action Week is on Monday, March 6th. It is the 1st Monday in March; in 2024, it is Wednesday. There are until the next observance. You also can learn all the cool details and facts about March 6, 2023, that you might not be aware of.

Starting from 2021, Food Waste Action Week has been taking place every year during the first week of March. In this year, it is scheduled to be held from March 6 to March 12. It might come as a surprise, but the amount of food that gets discarded has such a significant carbon footprint that if it were a country, it would rank as the third largest emitter, following only the United States and China. This wastage of good food not only affects the environment but also contributes to climate change. When we throw away food, we are essentially wasting the resources like land, fertilizer, water, and greenhouse gases that were used in its production.

📜 Food Waste Action Week History

Chemical fertilizers became available after World War II when the government realized that surplus ammonium nitrate, originally used for explosives, could be used to fertilize crops. This led to an increase in food production due to the use of machinery and agricultural chemicals. The United States produced so much food that a program called Food for Peace was established in 1954 to sell excess food to impoverished countries. In 1960, President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated the “War on Poverty” to address the needs of low-income individuals by providing them with food.

After World War II, the United States experienced a period of economic growth and prosperity, moving away from the Great Depression. To sustain this expansion, consumption and planned obsolescence were encouraged. Unfortunately, today we waste or lose nearly one-third of all food produced worldwide, which not only affects people who go hungry but also harms our environment. In response to this issue, Love Food Hate Waste launched the first-ever Food Waste Action Week in 2021 to raise awareness about food waste and its impact on climate change.

✅ Food Waste Action Week Facts

🔖 Carbon footprint
If every person in the United Kingdom refrained from wasting bread for a year, it would result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to planting approximately 5.3 million trees.

🔖 How the world is responding
Numerous locations in the United States and worldwide are actively working towards achieving the goal of eliminating all food waste.

🔖 It impacts the environment
Food waste is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for about 8-10% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

👍 Why Is Food Waste Action Week Important

Food Waste Action Week is vital for raising awareness about the environmental consequences of food waste. Throwing away excellent food wastes the resources, energy, and water that were utilized to create and preserve it. It has a significant carbon impact.
Food Waste Action Week seeks to foster long-term change that will contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of reducing global food waste by 2030. We only have one planet, and we must take care of it.
In the United Kingdom alone, we squander 6.5 million tons of food each year. Aside from the environmental effect, we must minimize this number to assist every household in saving money by utilizing every food item purchased.

🙂 How To Observe Food Waste Action Week

⚡ Plan your meals

⚡ Track your food footprint
One way to reduce food waste at home is by monitoring the amount of food you and your family throw away each week. It is helpful to determine the right portion sizes for yourself and only prepare what you can consume. If you struggle with cooking exact servings, you can get creative and find ways to use up leftovers.

⚡ Understand dates
Create a weekly food plan and a shopping list. Plan out your servings before you go shopping so you only buy what you need. Before you go shopping, make a list of what you already have.

📅 When is Food Waste Action Week?

View all 🔗 March holidays, including 🔗 Food & Beverage and other 🔗 Awareness holidays.

We will continue to update this page with new information and must-know facts about Food Waste Action Week. So be sure to check back soon.