Families at St. Joseph’s Primary School have joined more than a dozen schools and early childhood centres across the Mid North Coast in the Midwaste Food Smart Families project.
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The project is aimed at raising awareness of food waste in the home and educating local families in food waste reduction techniques.
The project is currently running across six council areas on the Mid North Coast, including Kempsey Shire Council, and is part of the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Love Food Hate Waste state-wide Food Smart program.
The average NSW household throws away $3800 of edible food each year. Food Smart is a free education program that helps people reduce food waste at home.
More than 15 St. Joseph’s Primary School families are now actively participating in the program and that number is growing each week.
Principal Melissa Turner said the program is encouraging students to become waste-smart at home.
“The Food Smart Families Project has given us a wonderful opportunity to talk with families about what they can do in their own homes to make much better use of the food that they buy, while saving money and helping the environment,” Ms Turner said.
“We promoted Food Smart through our school newsletter and our enviro team at and offered bees wax wrap workshops to participating families, helping them to keep their food fresh for longer while reducing plastic waste.”
All participating households received a free tool kit with items such as bag clips and food huggers to help them keep their food fresh for longer. Families measure the food waste at the start and end of the program to monitor the progress of their food waste reduction.
To find out how to be Food Smart at home, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au/at-home/six-steps-reducing-food-waste-at-home
