Reducing food waste for a more sustainable future

Our National Catering and Hospitality Manager, Noel Finnegan, shares his thoughts on the important role of food in our sustainability agenda…

With the days gradually getting longer and the winter months receding, many of us are turning our attention to the delights of the garden and what we want to grow this year.

Here at Anchor, as part of our drive to be more sustainable, we’re using food as one of the ways to meet our climate commitments – both by growing our own fruit and vegetables and recycling our food waste.

We’re rolling out an exciting ‘grow your own’ initiative called Pot Gang in over 90 of our care homes. Thanks to the support of our supplier EFoods, residents and colleagues will get their hands dirty and grow their own produce from seed. 

With care and attention, we’ll see some delicious home-grown produce on our dinner tables in months to come.

It’s not the first time we’ve had a focus on grow your own. Last year, in our Anchor Chef of the Year competition, our finalists used vegetables and herbs grown by residents and local school children in their winning dishes.

I recently read that the UK throws away 9.52 million tonnes of food per year which emits 25 million tonnes of CO2e – more than Kenya’s total annual emissions. We’re committed to playing our part in reducing this. 

Our chef managers are thinking carefully when ordering and storing food to avoid having to throw produce away. 

We’re ensuring we use as much of each product as possible, particularly fruit and vegetables, by being inventive in using the parts such as leaves and stalks, which often get discarded. 

One example of this was in our Ashcroft care home in Bradford where residents planted the seeds from their Halloween pumpkin lanterns last year.

Recycling food - where waste cannot be avoided - is something our homes take seriously. Recycling and composting food waste provides a range of environmental benefits including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring the nutrients in food are recycled. 

We have food waste recycling bins in our kitchens across more than 120 homes so that we can separate and recycle food waste. We’re pleased a change in the law in this area to increase food recycling will come into action later this year.

A focus on sustainability is everyone’s responsibility. Through small but effective steps such as these, we’re working hard to reduce our own carbon footprint and at the same time helping residents and colleagues take simple steps of their own towards a low-carbon future. 

Our vision for a sustainable future

Find out more about how we are working to tackle climate change and create a sustainable future, and  read Anchor's Environmental Sustainability and Net Zero Carbon Strategy on our Environment and Sustainability page.