#FoodSavvy year one external report 2018 - 2019 by HUBBUB

#FoodSavvy year one external report 2018-2019

A new vision for 2025

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Introduction Headline Impact & Executive Summary

Our Vision

#FoodSavvy In Context

An Informed Approach

Year One Impact & Analysis

Key Learning

Ambition For The Year Ahead

Conclusion

Appendices

This report logs the journey of the  initiative. It shares our informed approach, our progress, our learning and our vision for the year ahead. We know that food waste is a stubborn issue but one that we all must address if we are to make serious headway on our global emissions reduction targets.

In 2018, Norfolk and Suffolk Councils joined forces with environmental charity Hubbub around a vision to achieve a 20% reduction of food waste across Suffolk and Norfolk by 2025.1  The result was #FoodSavvy, a unique collaborative food waste campaign informed by extensive research.

This report is vital reading for all businesses, local authorities and communities. Collectively we can all make a huge difference to the future of the planet, saving vital public money in the process.

Our shared aim has been to deliver significant long-term impacts to reduce the amount of food finding its way into our rubbish bins over the next seven years. The first year of #FoodSavvy has come to an end, providing an opportunity to reflect upon what has been learnt to date and providing an opportunity to bring others on our mission to combat the pressing issue of food waste.

“More than a third of all food produced worldwide - over one billion tonnes of edible food each year - goes to waste...Some people are living in prosperity while marginalised people are hungry. We know this has to change.” Ban Ki Moon, UN General Secretary (2007-2016)

This target is aligned with the government supported Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)’s Courtauld Commitment which in turn is aligned with the United Nations- SDG’s. 1

H E A D L I N E I M PAC T

Over 30 new partnerships, 9 campaigns, represented at 50 events

218 pieces of coverage with opportunities to see/hear of more than 200 million. Of this total, 96 were regional with opportunities to see/hear of 25.7 million 1011 distinct contributors on social media

12,560 people  directly engaged through physical events and activities 7 local ambassadors reaching 84K (largely local) followers with posts on #FoodSavvy and reducing their own food waste by over 50% on average in one month

3940 unique visits to #FoodSavvy pages across partner sites

KEY FINDINGS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The UK is facing a food waste challenge. Nationally it is estimated 7.3m tonnes of food waste was binned by households in 2015– over 60% of which was avoidable. In Norfolk and Suffolk, this equates to 118,000 tonnes of wasted food across the two counties. Nearly 40% of this food is still packaged. At a time of austerity, food waste impacts on the public’s disposable income while this waste costs regional taxpayers over £12m annually. There is a clear need for leadership. The time is ripe for a different, more collaborative approach to reduce food waste, one of which is based on local insight and international best practice. Norfolk and Suffolk’s #FoodSavvy Vision is a call for communities and businesses to work with us across the whole of Norfolk and Suffolk’s food and drink value chain. Together we share the vision to cut food waste by 20% by 2025, with great benefit for the budgets of all involved, and the environment.

Year One, of our seven year strategy has made great headway against our ambition: • Translating insight into communications and campaigns • Creating momentum through the development of the #FoodSavvy brand and common messages which unite activities across the counties • Building awareness of the key behaviours to combat food waste and the most prominent wasted items

Rome wasn’t built in a day: Year one has made great headway in establishing the campaign structure, partnerships, brand and programmes. Significant online reach has been achieved. However, more time is needed to embed the campaign messages at a local level. A fresh approach: The Food Savvy brand is a departure from traditional council aesthetic. It has proved appealing to a broad range of partners. Public brand recognition and sentiment remains to be measured. Trusted messengers matter: Local digital influencers have been great ambassadors for Food Savvy. Their followings have respected, engaged with, and emulated their behaviours. Find a hook: Visually arresting materials and installations online and at events grab attention, providing a gateway to further conversation. Money matters: Food Savvy messaging on food and money saving has been shown to resonate with the public. However we need to remain responsive to changing concerns and drivers. Simplicity is key: Busy community groups and local organisations need to be given simple, quick and easy means for involvement. Similarly, households have responded well to one clear take home message such as ‘eat your pumpkin’, ‘freeze your banana’ or ‘check your fridge.’

• Securing investment, building new partnerships and a network of supporters who are committed to delivering the message

Camaraderie and community: Group activities such as the Food Savvy Lunch Club, cooking courses and Community Fridges have helped households feel they are part of a wider movement which has helped to positively reinforce change.

• Trialling a range of behaviour change interventions to inform where best to invest in subsequent years

The Food waste fight: Plastics have captured the public imagination in recent years making plastic reduction the environmental issue in the forefront of many minds. However, we have shown that there are successful ways to link the two and there is still significant media interest in food waste and community-based solutions.

• Establishing a robust measurement and evaluation framework to enable us to track and respond to our impact

• Starting the conversation with our target audience and generating authentic stories from the public and local influencers

Collaboration is key: The Food Savvy collaboration has maximised resources and attracted new partners, creating room for innovation. However, collaboration does not mean ‘one size fits all’. Room for regional variances and bespoke interventions needs to remain.

Year Two of #FoodSavvy will build upon this promising start, honing, developing and scaling our approach to date. Great focus will be given to targeted messaging, alliance building, celebrating success and amplifying the profile of the campaign nationally. 6

OUR SHARED VISION Twenty years ago, recycling wasn’t on the radar for most people. Yet, in 2018 over 46% of all household waste was recycled across Norfolk and 47.1% in Suffolk. The culture of recycling has firmly shifted in 25 years. Looking ahead, our aim by 2025 is to have made an equally significant culture shift around food waste. Given current trends, 2025 will look significantly different for both counties with an increased average age of the population, increased ill health and a 5%+ increase in population size. With this in mind, it is crucial we start to change the food culture of residents now ensuring it continues long into the future and helps to embed a stronger financial resolve. We know that reducing food waste can increase disposable income, improve health and well-being, thus improving household resilience and releasing crucial public sector resources.

“The food waste fight is not only an incredibly worthy cause, but it’s also an increasingly urgent one. The scale of the problem is huge, and the way to tackle it is together. Hubbub’s work with Norfolk and Suffolk has really got citizens thinking about wasted food in new and creative ways and Love Food Hate Waste looks forward to supporting its second year of activity and to seeing even more progress! From checking your fridge temperature to preventing a Banana Drama, we’re all working towards the same goal: keeping food out of the bin.” - Helen White, Love Food Hate Waste

Reduce Food Waste in Norfolk and Suffolk by 20% by 2025 in line with Courtauld 2025.  Our vision begins with a two year action plan delivered through four tangible goals. GOAL ONE • Households make tangible changes to their lives to reduce food waste. Households will be encouraged to make small changes that together achieve a meaningful reduction in food waste.  GOAL TWO •  Increased resourcing and leadership across Norfolk and Suffolk. Key national and local stakeholders are invited to participate. GOAL THREE • A stronger network of advocates promoting food waste messaging. Key amplifiers, such as influencers, are supported to make changes within their own lives.  GOAL FOUR • Work with the leading organisations in Suffolk and Norfolk to ensure they have greater skills and capacity to promote behaviour change on food waste.

# F O O D S AV V Y I N C O N T E X T Food waste is a global and national environmental challenge. In 2015, the United Nations launched its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 12 targets sustainable production and consumption including the waste of 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year. In August 2019, the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) Climate Change and Land report bolstered the UK conversation on food waste reduction. Stating that it will be impossible to keep global temperatures at safe levels unless there is also a transformation in the way the world produces food and manages land. The report emphasised that we will all drastically need to reduce our food waste. The challenge that we face to make headway against the SDG’s is now greater than ever. Now is the time to act. SDG 12.3: “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including postharvest losses”

A GROWING MOVEMENT WRAP’s Love Food Hate Waste have set the standard and direction for future work, including those of both Suffolk and Norfolk councils in recent years. These campaigns are shifting away from a broad-brushed approach towards one which is more targeted and focused on specific demographics and food types.

#FoodSavvy is part of a growing movement of food waste activism in the UK which has both informed our approach, and which we hope to inform, through open sharing of our progress and learning. Highlights include: • Courtauld 2025, facilitated by government affiliated organisation, WRAP, calls for voluntary action on reducing food waste. It is now into Phase 4 (2015-2025) with an increasing focus on influencing consumer habits.

• TRiFOCAL London – Transforming City Food Habits for Life, is an initiative led by Resource London which has used London as a testbed for messaging around healthy and sustainable eating, food waste reduction and recycling.

• Landmark campaigns such as

• In 2018, the Welsh Government announced a target to reduce 50% of food waste by 2025, building on a sizeable reduction over the past ten years.

Principal Authorities, including Suffolk, have declared a climate emergency, committing them to take urgent action to reduce their carbon emissions at a local level.

• Retailers are increasingly trialling customer engagement through food waste. Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More and IKEA’s Live LAGOM campaigns being prime examples.

#FoodSavvy is keen to work in collaboration with this growing movement whilst maintaining a focus on waste reduction, the pinnacle of the Food Waste Hierarchy. We are also acutely aware of the potential implications of Brexit on food prices and the UK economy. #FoodSavvy will be responsive to this need.

• In 2018, the UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Waste and Resources Strategy set out an ambition to double resource productivity, eliminate avoidable waste of all kinds by 2050 and reduce food waste to landfill by 2030.  Businesses have been encouraged to make public their data on food wastage and redistribute the waste arising. This has been matched by an ambition to introduce mandatory food waste collection in 2023 with all English local authorities being required to provide kerbside properties and flats with access to at least a weekly separate collection service for food waste. In addition, the UK has seen the appointment of ‘Food Waste and Surplus Champion’, Ben Elliot who is responsible of nationwide engagement on food waste. We are also witnessing a shift in public awareness and response to the environmental crisis marked by recent phenomena such as Extinction Rebellion and the Government’s declaration of a “Climate Emergency”. In 2019, Extinction Rebellion took over five sites in London, causing a fivefold increase in online searches for “climate change”. In May 2019 the UK central government declared a climate emergency announcing a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050. At the time of writing, 205 of the UK’s 408 11

AN INFORMED APPROACH Year One activities were informed by our 2025 Vision which was built upon behaviour change theory and a strong foundation of local research.2 Our approach for Year One and Year Two has been two-pronged, we set out to:    1. Develop a communications strategy which works at a regional level and can be rolled out across the #FoodSavvy partnership and amplified by project partners. 2. Create a range of campaigns and interventions which focus on defined audiences and regions. These interventions have been closely measured so we can scale successes.   Further detail on our approach to delivering Year One and Year Two can be found in the #FoodSavvy 2018 Vision.

TA R G E T A U D I E N C E Resources are allocated where the biggest impact can be delivered. In Year One we have targeted the counties’ most densely populated areas and high footfall events. In Year Two onwards, we will look to increase the targeting of densely populated areas.   We have also been responsive to the need to target segements of the population which statistically are the most wasteful. According to consumer classification tools such as ACORN profiles, this comprises of the ‘Comfortable Communities’ cohort, the biggest regional cohort. (See appendix for ACORN profiles.)

In years two and, in particular, three onwards, we intend to increase the level of targeting and broaden the campaign to the Financial Stretched. This will include the older population and those of modest means. Playing to the financial drivers of reducing food waste and to the older generation who tend to know the value of lost food.

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR We know that changing behaviour is complex and requires people to rethink habits. There are a range of proven academic techniques that can ‘nudge’ people to positively change behaviours. Where relevant these have been used in #FoodSavvy. •

People are keen to have conversations around habits, routines and daily living.

• We know that people want to be inspired, rather than scared into taking action through a doom and gloom approach, and this consistently showed up in our 2017 research in Suffolk and Norfolk, presented in the Insight Report. • People also want to feel part of a wider group that is delivering positive change. Creating this ‘social norm’ is a proven behaviour change technique. Conversational pieces have been created across the two counties, which spark interest, and offer tangible, positive and beneficial actions for householders. • Efforts are being made to show the impact of cumulative actions illustrating to people that they are part of a wider group creating change. These proven change techniques seek to change seven specific behaviours.

Recent research in both the British Medical Journal and from the World Resources Institute highlight that the public make most decisions in their life quickly and often based on habit rather than rational decision-making. This is unsurprising given the average adult sees over 5,000 adverts a day trying to persuade them to buy the next best thing. Therefore, interventions to change behaviour need to affect consumers’ rational, informed decisions but also influence their automatic or unconscious decisions and stand apart from traditional information and education campaigns with a poor record of cut through.

BARRIERS AGAINST EFFECTIVE CHANGE

7 B E H A V I O U R S T H AT C U T F O O D W A S T E

£ 1

Checking food in the house before shopping

Controlling portion size

Planning meals in advance

Ensuring you know what to buy when you go shopping

Placing relevant food in cold storage or using other preservation methods

Avoiding unplanned purchases

? Poor knowledge of preparation and storage

Understanding the use of leftovers

Confusion around date labelling

Residents per household

Managing portion sizes

Defaulting to household norms

Conserving food that is left-over after meals

#FoodSavvy principles: • • • •

Minimise disruption – fit change activities in with daily lifestyle Sell a compelling benefit – ensuring a message resonates Maximize awareness – leaving a lasting impression to break habits Evolve social norms – changing the culture around the subject

YEAR ONE I M P A C T A N D A N A LY S I S C A M PA I G N H E A D L I N E S

#FOODSAVVY CHALLENGE

INFLUENCER #FOODSAVVY CHALLENGE

#FOODSAVVY LUNCH CLUB 50

210 households sign up for an online food waste reduction challenge. New bespoke advice for those living alone, in shared housing or with children added.

7 influencers from Norfolk and Suffolk reduced their food waste by over 50% on average in one month. They shared blogs about their experience, which reached 85,000 people.

Employees from Norfolk and Suffolk reduced their food waste by over 55% over one month and had continued behaviours three months on.

FOOD SAVVY IN THE COMMUNITY During the first year of Food Savvy, Norfolk and Suffolk’s Food Savvy volunteer ‘champions’ represented Food Savvy at over 45 events. In addition, volunteers have informal chats with friends & neighbours, give presentations to local interest groups and local primary schools. During the first year period, volunteers and staff have spoken to over 9,500 people at local events. Members of the public were given waste reduction tools such as recipe cards, portioning tools and bag clips. The recruitment and training of Food Savvy volunteers has continued in the region, maintaining a programme of individuals who support in running activities to reduce food waste. 18

#FOODSAVVY QUIZ

PUMPKIN RESCUE

KITCHEN LOVE

The #FoodSavvy quiz, which reached 85,000 people, explores users food habits and directs them towards specific food saving advice. 375 people have started the quiz and 316 people have completed the quiz (84% completion rate.) This had led to 90 referrals to the mailing list.

At least 1116 people took part in 4 local events recieving pumpkin soup, tips, recipe cards and portioning tools.

A new community kitchen in West Suffolk was launched providing 6 intergenerational food waste workshops and a community resource there after.

National media coverage and social media reach of over 4 million.

The campaign was features by ITV Anglia and the East Anglian Daily Times with OTS of 1.1 million.

#FOODSAVVY CHRISTMAS

BANANA DRAMA TOUR

TRAVELLERS CHECK

A digital campaign helping people to save at Christmas. 276 posts, 96 contributors. Video - 5.7K views. Tenants Times physical 150K print 8.5K residents. Event at Norwich County Hall.

Over 1800 residents visited a banana themed installation at nine events across two countries receiving recipe cards and tips. Unique set of digital assets created for online campaign, which saw 1,735, 494 timeline deliveries on Twitter, and 12,038 impressions on Instagram.

This social media campaign targeted the waste generated when people head off on holiday. It saw 3,241,052 timeline deliveries on Twitter and 24,274 impressions on Instagram. A competition element boosted engagement and discussion around holiday waste.

M E D I A I M PA C T •

•

218 pieces of coverage with opportunities to see/hear of more than 200 million. Of this total, 96 were regional with opportunities to see/hear of 25.7 million. Broadcast coverage includes ITV and ITV East Anglia lunchtime news, That’s Norfolk TV, BBC Radio 5 Live, Talk Radio as well as interviews and news bulletins run across local radio stations including BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Radio Norfolk and Heart Norwich Print coverage includes The Guardian, Daily Mirror, East Anglian Daily Times, Eastern Daily Press and Ipswich Star

•

Online coverage includes theguardian. com, mirror.co.uk, bbc.co.uk, itv.com, sky.com as well as yahoo.com

•

Trade coverage includes Business Green, RESource and Recycling & Waste World

631 posts 1,562,933 impressions 465,890 reach 1,367 comments 24,037 likes 115 contributors

TWITTER

A full breakdown of coverage to date can be found here on our ongoing campaign coverage log: https://rlsd.co/p/l7phlg.

2,762 Tweets

Our social media data has been drawn from tracking of the hashtag #FoodSavvy on Instagram and Twitter.

2,680,278 reach 15,091,860 timeline deliveries 996 contributors

WEBSITE The campaign launched alongside the #FoodSavvy website. The website features recipes, top tips for reducing food waste, blogs on current events, campaigns and food trends alongside ways for householders and community organisations to get in touch with #FoodSavvy.

I N S TA G R A M

I M PAC T

C A M P A I G N A N A LY S I S

Since 2018 210 people have signed up to the #FoodSavvy Challenge. 11 challenge participants completed a post challenge survey. All 11 participants answered yes to the question ‘Having taken the challenge do you throw away less food?’. 36% said that the challenge had helped them to halve their food waste while 27% said it had helped them to quarter their waste. The challenge was most successful in helping participants to check their fridge and freezer before shopping.

# F O O D S AV V Y Q U I Z The #FoodSavvy Quiz is hosted on quiz site Riddle. It asks a series of questions to determine users’ food habits and offers tailored advice based on their answers. 375 people have started the quiz and 316 people have completed the quiz (84% completion rate). This has led to 90 referrals to the mailing list. Whilst we are lacking in qualitative data on the extent to which the quiz changes behaviour, the completion rate is positive. Backed up by the fact that nearly a quarter of those taking the quiz signed up to the mailing list. We can infer that the quiz is a fun way to pique interest in #FoodSavvy and we know that it serves well as a good conversation starter online and at events.

W H AT W E L E A R N T The challenge continues to receive a steady sign up rate and is easily promoted at events, and via all partners’ web & social media pages. We will continue to look at ways to increase the number of people signing up and ensure that they get the most from the challenge. An example of this is the addition of different lifestyle options at the initial sign up page. Regular prizes may be used in future to incentivise participation.

# F O O D S AV V Y C H A L L E N G E The #FoodSavvy Challenge was an initiative instigated by Norfolk’s Plan Eat Save team. Those who sign up are challenged to save up to £70 per month (the average monthly food waste per UK household) by tackling their food waste. Those signing up then receive weekly email communications with new advice to help them to save. The #FoodSavvy Challenge was rebranded for the launch of #FoodSavvy in September 2018 and in early 2019 we added tailored advice to help users to get the most from the #FoodSavvy Challenge. This was based upon the number of people in their household and the age of those living in the household.

KITCHEN LOVE In September 2018, #FoodSavvy entered a unique partnership with appliance manufacturer NEFF and home improvement store B&Q via the Kitchen Love campaign. The campaign’s aim was to promote cooking skills between generations. The campaign drew from WRAP’s research which showed that cooking skills correlate with low food wastage as competent cooks know how to make the most of their food. The campaign featured an on the ground and social media campaign promoting knowledge sharing between generations. It also involved the creation of a community kitchen in an area of Suffolk where childhood obesity levels are among some of the highest in the county. Following the launch of the kitchen, grandparents and grandchildren were invited into the kitchen for a 6 week cooking course.

coverage in the East Anglian Daily Times. Local media Opportunities to See (OTS) came to 1.1 million. Following the sessions, the centre recieved a grant from West Suffolk council for ongoing cooking sessions over the next 3 years. Norwich: All of those that attended rated the workshop excellent and claimed that they would share what they had learned with at least three other people. Five of the six families said that they would waste less food as a result. One of the families claimed that they wasted no food in the first place. One family said that they felt they could cut their food waste by half as a result. The others were more modest in their estimates. “For Haverhill as a town, Kitchen Love is a brilliant setting for bringing the local community together and promoting healthy eating, cooking skills, reducing food waste and rediscovering the benefits of home-cooking.”

A one-off session from the course was also run with 6 sets of families in Norwich to mark Grandparents Day. This was advertised as a #FoodSavvy campaign.

- Colin Poole, Haverhill Community Trust

I M PAC T Suffolk: Significant investement in the Leiston Community Centre in Haverhill, West Suffolk. See before and after pictures to the right. All participants said that they had learnt new skills, about food waste and would cook the recipes at home again. The #FoodSavvy team was interviewed on ITV Anglia and the campaign received Haverhill ‘Kitchen’ pre Kitchen Love Figure 1: Haverhill Kitchen after Kitchen Love

W H AT W E L E A R N T

PUMPKIN RESCUE

W H AT W E L E A R N T

It is unlikely that another opportunity quite like this will arise for #FoodSavvy and we do not anticipate having further resources for community kitchens in the year ahead.

The Pumpkin Rescue is a seasonal food waste campaign first run by Hubbub in 2014. In 2015, Hubbub open sourced the campaign materials and since then the Pumpkin Rescue has gone on to have a life of its own in communities around the UK. In 2018 the campaign was rebranded to be the #FoodSavvy Pumpkin Rescue, meaning that the digital assets that were shared with interested communities featured the hashtag #FoodSavvy. Flagship Pumpkin Rescue events were run in Norwich and Bury St Edmunds. Pumpkin farms in the region were contacted and asked if they would like to promote the campaign by giving out free recipe cards. The resource pack was also shared with local groups so that they could run their own Halloween events using #FoodSavvy Pumpkin Rescue messaging.

The Pumpkin Rescue came towards the start of the #FoodSavvy campaign and therefore we had limited lead-in time. This, combined with an overly comprehensive resource pack, led #FoodSavvy partners to feel that more time and more simple messaging around involvement would lead to greater investment from community groups.

While the project analysis has highlighted the merit of cooking workshops in instigating long term change, they are resource intensive and limited in the number of people they reach. We also know that it can be difficult to attract our target audience, i.e. those that are already wasting food as feedback from the Norwich workshop suggests.

I M PAC T

The Year Two resource pack has been simplified and it highlights quick ways in which any individual or community can get involved in the Pumpkin Rescue at Halloween. Events have been repeated in town centres and in pumpkin farms.

Alongside the campaigns, media and social media covered here, #FoodSavvy has been exhibited at numerous community events such as student fairs, film screenings and food waste conferences. Recipe cards, business cards, banners and merchandise such as food portioning tools and bag clips have been created and distributed at these events. A #FoodSavvy website and mailing list have also been created.

‘We ran out of recipe cards on Sunday afternoon. They were popular & also generated conversation about how to use the pumpkin flesh. We would certainly like some again next year.’  The Tacons Pumpkin Farm, Norfolk

Please see project impact report for further detail.

There were 4 local events including a #FoodSavvy Pumpkin Rescue pop-up with free soup and recipe cards in the centre of Norwich and Bury St Edmunds around Halloween. The Bury St Edmunds event specifically generated great press coverage and featured the #FoodSavvy team being dressed up in their terrifying finery (see to the right). Norwich City Council have been running the Pumpkin Rescue over the last few years. The 2018 event was a collaboration between Food Cycle, #FoodSavvy and Norwich City Council which received a steady footfall throughout the day and reached nearly 1000 visitors. In total the, local media opportunity to see/hear was 7.6 million. At least 1116 people were directly engaged in conversation, took recipe cards or were given free soup.

# F O O D S AV V Y C H R I S T M A S

I M PAC T

There are times of the year when food wastage spikes. Christmas is one of these times as people often over buy for fear of being caught short when catering for fluid numbers of festive guests. #FoodSavvy used this time of abundance to talk about planning and storage, with a focus on freezing.

The Tenants’ Times went out to 150,000 residents, the video received 5,700 views and there was good engagement on the hashtag on social media. 278 posts were made by 96 contributors.

# F O O D S AV V Y I N F L U E N C E R S

W H AT W E L E A R N T #FoodSavvy Christmas was well received and seems to have struck a tone that was celebratory and non-judgemental. Promotion through avenues such as the Tenants Times will be sought in the year ahead.

An advent calendar for use on social media was created which featured tips for making the most of food over the holiday period. Blogs and a short campaign film were also created. Suffolk’s Tenants’ Times promoted the food saving message and a #FoodSavvy Christmas event was hosted by Norfolk County Council at County Hall, alongside leaflets with recipes distributed to Norfolk’s library network.

Catherine

Pushing the Moon, Norfolk

Hannah

Susie

The Life of Pye Norfolk

This Is Me Now Norfolk

Christmas proved to be a time when households admit to over-buying and are open to suggestions on how to have a more festive holiday.

Chiarina

Plastic Free Mummy Suffolk

Cassie

Jax

CassieFairy / My Thrifty Life Suffolk

Live Otherwise Suffolk

Lauren

She Flies With Her Own Wings Suffolk

I N F L U E N C E R # F O O D S AV V Y C H A L L E N G E We invited seven local influencers, such as bloggers and vloggers to take part in the #FoodSavvy Challenge. Over the month of February, the seven took on the challenge to assess the extent to which they could reduce their food waste. They trialled food-saving products and received tips and resources to help them as well as inspiration for their content and social media. The #FoodSavvy team conducted an interview with each of the influencers at the outset and gave them bespoke advice and products to match. The products were donated by Lakeland, IKEA and Food Saver (see below). At the beginning, middle and end of the challenge, we asked the influencers to release a piece on the challenge (blog or Instagram post). Each week had a theme. We asked the participants to weigh their avoidable food waste in week 1 and 4, as well as to complete a fun mini-challenge in weeks 2, 3 and 4.

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

The Champions carried on as normal, keeping a log of the food waste they produce.

This week focused on Loving Leftovers... it’s almost Valentine’s Day after all!

This week focused on storage, and how the Champions can save food and money by using their freezer.

The final week encouraged forward thinking. Planning is the key to making sure food doesn’t go to waste.

Post 1

Post 2

Post 3

As part of the challenge, the influencers were asked to weigh their avoidable food waste over week 1 and week 4. This helped them to understand where they can cut food waste. They received a logging sheet and were encouraged to put any avoidable food waste in a bowl to measure at the end of each day of the week. Their goal was to reduce their avoidable food waste by 20% at the end of the challenge.

I M PAC T

W H AT W E L E A R N T

Between the influencers, the blogs/ posts were viewed 83,633 times. The influencers on average reduced their food waste by 55% over the month. This came to a saving of over 5.5kg of food. The #FoodSavvy hashtag was used in 370 tweets over the challenge period, 80 of which were from the influencers. The #FoodSavvy hashtag was used in 67 Instagram posts over the challenge period, 24 of which were from the influencers. A handful of comments from those taking part are featured below.

Although it took time to build relationships with the influencers and to secure the products, we feel that the #FoodSavvy Challenge is a fantastic example of how influencers can spread the word about #FoodSavvy to new audiences. The #FoodSavvy Champions were all at different stages on their food waste reduction journeys. Some had very little food waste, but incredibly engaged followers, while others were completely new to the topic, resulting in outreach to previously ‘hard to reach’ audiences. Outreach was most successful with influencers with bigger audiences.

“I think the key is to meal plan and to come up with some meals that are suitable for me, and two boys who are into different foods, and looking at making my food go further. Reducing how much I spend going to the supermarket for lunch on workdays when I could easily make my own lunch.” Lauren

Lunch box

Jar with lid, 1L

Food container, set of 17

Banana Bag. Retail

Food container, 1.8L

Zipper Bags. Retail

“When I took the initial baseline measurements, I was really surprised to see who in our family generated the most waste. I was convinced it would be my daughter but it was actually my son.”

Top tip – “Definitely to meal plan with a day for using up leftovers or having something you’ve batched cooked from the freezer. Also definitely to batch cook. And finally to check what ingredients you have that need using up before you meal plan - so you plan your next meals around using up things.”

Catherine

Susie 31

Comments from the public on the influencer’s posts were also encouraging and showed real engagement with the issue.

“Freeze, do not buy too much fresh food which I won’t be able to eat, plan what to eat”

“Stopped doing weekly bulk food shops and buying as and when. We don’t waste any food!”

# F O O D S AV V Y L U N C H C L U B

I M PAC T

The #FoodSavvy Lunch Club aimed to engage local businesses and their employees on food waste reduction, whilst improving employee wellbeing and health. Given the recent interest in plastic waste, we pitched the challenge as an undertaking to reduce both food waste and plastic waste. Specifically, participants were challenged to go for a month without using single-use plastic at lunchtime. This meant that they would have to make their own lunch or take their own lunch boxes to local eateries. The campaign was trialled by Aviva, Environment Agency, AXA and BT.

Of the 50 employees taking part, 83% said the #FoodSavvy Lunch Club helped them reduce their single use plastics with participants on average reducing their usage by 54%. 79% of participants said that the Lunch Club helped them reduce their food waste (57% Agree, 25% Strongly Agree). Participants on average reduced their food waste by approximately 52% over the month. 67% said the trial had helped them to save money and 75% to eat more healthily. 88% of participants said they would use the #FoodSavvy tips in the future. 19 participants completed our follow up survey 3 months on. 94% of have either further reduced their food waste (35%) or maintained the same level of food waste (59%) since the end of the challenge.

Participants were given:

“We buy daily what we need for dinner each evening – no waste build up in the fridge”

“We’ve started making our own [bread] each weekend to last us the week – now we have the hang of it, it’s pretty quick to do and saves loads of money” “Inspirational stuff”

“I’m loving freezing and meal planning, but also I look in my fridge to see what jars need using and plan around that”

“I’m thinking about getting a compost bin for the garden, where would be a good place for it?”

• The #FoodSavvy Savings Guide which includes tips on reducing food waste, including top storage solutions, portioning tools and advice for using up leftovers. The guide also included ideas for alternatives to single-use plastics. • A three-week meal plan with three weeks’ worth of recipes based around using up leftovers and buying versatile ingredients. The plan included an empty fourth week with which participants could experiment. • Participants were offered a lunch time demo at their workplace with Suffolk-based chef Emma Crowhurst. Emma demonstrated how to cook one of the recipes from the meal plan and shared tips about reducing food waste. • 5 local eateries also took part in the BYO Tupperware scheme which we called Take Away, Give Back. Participants were offered an incentive for bringing their own containers.

Q: Are you still following any of the food-saving tips? If so, which ones?

meal planning planning making

cooking day Using

Freezing buy need meals

PA RT I C I PA N T C A S E S T U D I E S

leftovers going lunch

shopping

better

Participants comments included:

“Swapping food with friends was a great idea that I’d not thought of before.”

“Plan your food shop and meals. I had fallen out of the habit of doing this but it really makes a difference, prevents ‘overbuying’ of items. It’s a little bit more effort but pays off - and makes cooking dinner easier in the week.”

“I really liked the cooking demonstration. That was really useful as I am a visual learner and was a good opportunity to ask questions.”

“Great challenge and attempting to replicate it wider in my workplace.”

“What foods you can freeze! Didn’t know you could freeze cheese - I’ll definitely be doing this from now on.”

“Since this challenge my family waste has been reduced and we have saved money.”

“A colleague & I are planning a meeting with our Sustainability group to discuss running a #FoodSavvy event/ competition in our wellbeing week to promote food waste minimisation & single use plastics reduction in our work place. Thank you!”

“Yes - freezing what you don’t eat and only buying what you need. Saved me lots of money and reduced waste. Also with the frozen food I have meals for other days which are instant and healthy.”

“I made a point of checking my fridge veg drawer and making a nice soup from veg I’d unlikely use otherwise.”

The Lunch Club trial produced a considerable amount of media coverage in May 2019, with 128 pieces of coverage and an opportunity to see of more than 166 million. Including The Guardian, East Anglian Daily Times, Sky News, ITV, ITV East Anglia Lunchtime news, BBC Radio 5 Live, Talk Radio, as well as local radio stations, including BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Suffolk and Hearth Norwich. Following the media release, seven lunch packing manufactures were in touch to explore involvement and 24 organisations expressed interest in replicating the campaign. In order to increase the impact in the region, we are giving away a simple campaign tool kit and offering free support to any regional retailer taking on the challenge. W H AT W E L E A R N T While participants enjoyed the challenge and found that it made them more conscious of their waste and motivated a change in habit, we also received some great suggestions for improvements from participants. These included suggestions to increase the get togethers for those taking part, lengthen the challenge and explore further options for internal communications. This feedback has been taken on in the pack revisions. Marks and Spencer have since started offering the BYO lunch box scheme in their food hall of their own volition. #FoodSavvy was ahead of the trend.

these fridges and enable them to share #FoodSavvy resources through their channels. At the start of #FoodSavvy, there were no community fridges in Suffolk. In Year One of #FoodSavvy two further community fridges have been established in the region. One in Norfolk, in Earlham Community Centre, and one in Lowestoft in Suffolk. The Lowestoft Fridge is hosted at St Andrew’s Church and is expected to be the first of several sites in Lowestoft. The launch was well attended with the fridge being opened by the mayor of Lowestoft. I M PAC T Between August 2018 and April 2019, each Community Fridge in Norfolk and Suffolk redistributed 0.6 tonnes of surplus food on average. ‘We’ve redistributed 80kg of bread and cake over three days. We’re receiving donations from Lidl and M&S and are in the process of forming an arrangement with Aldi and Greggs. We’ve developed connections with other charities and food redistribution partners in the wider Lowestoft area, which was particularly useful when there is a lot of surplus of one type of food e.g. 60kg of bread from Lidl on Wednesday last week!’ Rev Damon Rodgers, Lowestoft Fridge manager W H AT W E L E A R N T

COMMUNITY FRIDGES

#FoodSavvy partners, Hubbub, coordinate the National Community Fridge Network and know that taking on a fridge is no small feat. In the year ahead, we will focus on getting those that have a real interest in taking on a fridge to run safe and efficient fridges which are able to promote reduction of food waste at a household level through sharing of #FoodSavvy resources.

Community Fridges are a space for any individual or retailer to share surplus food in the community. A network of 10 community fridges exist in Norfolk. These were established by the council as a part of the Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More campaign. Efforts have been made throughout the year to connect with 36

BANANA DRAMA

Norfolk Show and the Strumpshaw Tree Festival. Volunteers and staff running the stalls said that the tree caught people’s attention and drew them into conversation.

Banana Drama is a digital and on the ground campaign, aimed at raising awareness of food waste, using the much loved but commonly wasted banana as a hook. We created a suite of playful, banana themed assets for social media and commissioned a bright, eye catching and interactive banana tree installation for each council to tour at public events across the counties. The installation also includes a smoothie bike, for visitors to create waste-busting fruit smoothies using their “pedal power”.

W H AT W E L E A R N T The on the ground activations with the Banana Drama campaign worked as a draw, particularly at family friendly events. While the campaign was widely shared on social media, there was not a lot of meaningful engagement such as followers posting pictures of their banana saving efforts or sharing recipes. It may be useful for the next leg of the campaign to introduce a competitive element or a distinct call to action as has been done with the Travellers Check campaign. See next page. The banana tree and bike are suitable for long term use and we are currently exploring further outings for the next year of partnership, such as placement at East of England Co-op stores across the counties.

One volunteer mentioned: “I think the installation is a great draw and I could see people noticing it from a distance, coming over to have a look, and then being pleased that they could take a recipe away with them.” Another remarked “What was incredibly successful were the paper bananas with a recipe on them. I used these as an opener to invite people to come and talk to me.”

T R AV E L L E R S C H E C K

W H AT W E L E A R N T

Travellers Check is a digital campaign aimed at reducing the spike in waste. That occurs when the UK public go on summer holidays, with £12m worth of good food thrown out in the first week of holidays alone. The advice is simple – freeze, cook or gift any food that won’t survive the break.

The campaign has recieved good levels of engagement, and the six-week period of the campaign has provided an opportunity to test some techniques for boosting reach, such as targeted Facebook ads. The competition element of the campaign has boosted meaningful engagement and discussion around the campaign, with 30 people so far sharing photos and tips for using up food before going on holiday.

I M PAC T The campaign saw 3,241,052 national timeline deliveries on Twitter and 24,274 impressions on Instagram. The campaign also includes a competition run in partnership with Samsung UK, offering an American Style fridge freezer as a prize to the entrant with the best picture of their own Travellers Check tip or dish. There were 35 entries.

“I decided to make them into something rather than chuck in the bin, and also shared with my neighbours before going on holiday. I also listed some food on Olio… It’s so important to be economical rather than wasteful and more importantly... to be kind!” – Travellers Check competition entrant

The smoothie bike and banana tree combined was at times too much for a small team of volunteers to run and manage, but both work well as a standalone draw, and both teams adapted the resources depending on capacity at different events.

I M PA C T / U P D AT E Both the digital and on-the-ground activations have been very well received in both counties. The Banana Drama campaign posts saw 1,735,494 timeline deliveries on Twitter, and 12,038 impressions on Instagram. In Suffolk, there were approximately 1200 visitors to stalls that included the banana tree across six events. Many took away a recipe and rode the smoothie bike when it was available. Norfolk saw 680 visits to the installation at the Norfolk Food Festival, the Royal 38

YEAR ONE REACH CHANNEL

NOTE

LOCAL REACH

Press

OTS greater than Norfolk & Suffolk population (1.61m)

25.7

Social media Reach greater than Norfolk & Suffolk population (1.61m) 79,000 (Twitter, Instagram) Facebook not included Influencers/ Advocates/ Amplifiers

Presuming local audience

83,633

#FoodSavvy Website

Geotagging local audience

1,589

Norfolk Website

Presuming local audience

1219

Suffolk Website

Presuming local audience

246

Hubbub website

Total audience (national) and 2.5% of total (local)

886

YouTube

Total audience (national) and 2.5% of total (local)

145

#FoodSavvy mailing list

Created in 2018

157

#FoodSavvy Challenge

Signups this year

210

Physical engagement workshop

(Lunch Club & Kitchen Love)

120

Physical engagement event

Spoken to/ given tips, tools, food

12,560

ENGAGEMENT +

#FoodSavvy messaging on food and money saving resonates with the UK public. We can see that there is significant media interest in food waste and community- based solutions on a local and national level.

The #FoodSavvy website is performing well and in a good place to have further traffic directed to it.

C A M PA I G N S

Digital engagement campaigns such as the #FoodSavvy Challenge and the #FoodSavvy Quiz are cheap to implement and help residents to engage more fully with online content.

Local bloggers and vloggers are useful mediums for #FoodSavvy messaging and serve as authentic community voices.

In Year One, we are limited in our understanding of the extent to which we have reached our target audience.

Seasonal campaigns have provided the opportunity to create campaign assets which can be used for years to come.

Reusable installations such as Banana Drama are cost effective and reliable talking points for a range of scenarios such as local festivals, school visits, shopping centre pop-ups.

In 2018-19 the issue of plastics was gaining greater traction than food waste. While we are seeing growing awareness in the wake of the IPCC report on food systems and climate, there is a need for us to be flexible when it comes to key messaging. For example, whilst positive messaging around cost saving was the agreed approach when setting the campaign vision, external forces such political changes and shifting public perception towards the environment may force us to re-evaluate our tone and lead messaging.

Simple hooks with a take home message work well in a high-footfall environment.

Community Fridges help households to feel part of a wider movement by highlighting that food waste can be tackled by households and businesses within a community.

Stakeholder engagement is time intensive. All parties have committed to active outreach in Year One, however more needs to be done in Year Two despite the limited resources of all parties. The need for greater local support to embed #FoodSavvy within the target areas has been raised throughout the year.

We can only estimate local reach on social media and national articles. Therefore, results for Norfolk and Suffolk are reported as 2.5% population.

Stakeholders such as BIDs, housing associations and schools have proved difficult to engage.

K E Y L E A R N I N G A N D U P TA K E M O V I N G F O R WA R D

Securing sites for Community Fridges has taken longer than anticipated. The #FoodSavvy team will need to build in longer lead times in future.

Campaigns such as the Lunch Club and Kitchen Love have been highly effective in instigating change among those that they have touched. However, in their current form, scaling is resource intensive for those taking on the campaigns. Lighter touch options are more likely to be brought to scale effectively.

H O W A R E W E TA K I N G T H I S F O R WA R D ?

Increasing work with community amplifiers such as community groups and online influencers

Increased message testing with greater targeting of key audiences

Renewing stakeholder engagement strategy at a local and national level

Pushing light touch versions of Year One campaigns in Year Two

G E T I N V O LV E D Demonstrate leadership and take meaningful action on environment

AMBITION FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

The direction of Year Two is set by learning from Year One. In our second year we will continue to build the movement, scaling the successes of year one, while honing down the specific communities and audiences to target.

Run a #FoodSavvy event

Share #FoodSavvy messaging and campaigns through your channels

• The Food Savvy network will continue to grow • Lively campaigns focused on highly wasted food types, seasonal hooks and key behaviours will spark new conversation and support lasting behaviour change with our target audience • Our findings at the end of Year Two will be made available nationally

A TA S T E O F T H E C A M PA I G N S S E A S O N A L F O O D WA S T E C A M PA I G N S : Pumpkin Rescue, Festive Freeze, Travellers Check Ambition: Reach: 200,000 households including events (1,500) and online reach. K N OW YO U R L A B E L S # F O O D S AV V Y Ambition: Reach: 115,000 households including events (1,000). I N N O VAT I O N T R I A L S Ambition: Reach 1,000 households, building on learning from the Food Savvy Lunch Club. Develop new campaigns focused on the 7 key behaviours.

Partner on a new campaign

Guest blogs

# F O O D S AV V Y I N T H E COMMUNITY Banana Drama, fairs and festivals Ambition: 200,000 households including events (2,000) and online reach. • Amplify #FoodSavvy at local events, repeat the Banana Drama tour, develop new targeted food type campaigns, such as Use Your Loaf (bread) or Clip and Collect (herbs) • Support a greater number of Community Fridges in the region • Promote home composting • Engage students at budget crunch points

Engage your employees

Get in touch to explore partnership opportunities and to build on our existing work

A TA S T E O F Y E A R T W O S E A S O N A L F O O D WA S T E C A M PA I G N S Seasonal campaigns such as Pumpkin Rescue, Festive Freeze, Travellers Check use seasonal hooks to engage householders on food waste year-round. In Year Two we will build upon online reach with targeted advertising, welcome new partners and introduce physical events for Festive Freeze and Travellers Check. . K N OW YO U R L A B E L S # F O O D S AV V Y Confusion around date labels is a key source of food waste in the region, especially among the younger generation. A 2016 regional food waste composition analysis showed 40% of food binned to still be in its original packaging. Year Two will launch a playful, informative campaign with suitable partners to combat consumer confusion. # F O O D S AV V Y I N T H E C O M M U N I T Y Building on its 2019 success, the Banana Drama will go back on tour within the region. Suitable venues will be selected in the spring. In Year Two, high profile campaigns will be developed to target highly wasted household items such as bread, herbs and milk. Want to support ‘Clip and Collect’ or ‘Use Your Loaf’ within your organisation or community? Reach out. INFLUENCER CHALLENGE Increasing numbers of local influencers will be supported to reduce their food waste and share their top tips and #FoodSavvy resources with their audiences. Our doors are open to new voices. F O O D S AV V Y L U N C H O F F Local employers are invited to take part in the #FoodSavvy Lunch Off, helping their employees to make good use of Food Savvy meal plans, recipes and resources with prizes for those who persevere. COMMUNITY FRIDGE Communities wanting to host a Fridge are invited to get in touch for a support and resources to establish a safe and efficient fridge. E N G A G I N G O R G A N I S AT I O N S Local community groups, businesses, schools and associations are invited to get in touch to access free Food Savvy resources, tools and challenges. EAST OF ENGLAND CO-OP A new collaboration to reach households with simple, playful and practical information to help save food from the bin, through in store events and digital communications.

There’s always room for innovation. Watch this space or get in touch to explore your idea… Campaigns@hubbub.org.uk

CONCLUSION Year One of Food Savvy has made great headway against our Seven Year ambition. A strong brand, project website and communications materials have supported by a drum beat of nine novel behaviour change initiatives. In the first year we have bought over 30 partners on board, engaged over 12,500 local people through experiential events and had the opportunity to reach everyone in the region via media and social media. Much has been learnt in the first year of the campaign and we are proud to be able to share our learning from this formative period and build upon what’s worked in the year ahead. Year Two will forge new partnerships, strengthen existing campaigns and work to ensure that they remain relevant and reach ever greater numbers of our target audience. The #FoodSavvy Partnership will also continue to innovate and create scalable campaigns with a legacy, drawing insight from the successful components of a campaign identified in Year One in order to strive for our ambitious Seven Year Target in alignment with the Courtauld Commitment and the global Sustainable Development Goals.

The challenge we face is great and we cannot create this much needed culture shift around food waste on our own. We are calling on anyone with an interest in improving our environment and food culture to join the Food Savvy community and support by: • • • •

Running a Food Savvy challenge or event in your community or workplace Sharing Food Savvy materials with your community, colleagues, family and friends Contributing to our growing body of food saving tips, recipes and advice Cocreating a novel behaviour change campaign

This is just the beginning, to find out more and get involved, and follow the journey via #FoodSavvy on social media or get in touch via www.foodsavvy.org.uk or campagins@hubbub.org.uk

A P P E N D I C E S TA B L E O F A U D I E N C E

ACORN PROFILE

ACORN S U B - C AT E G O R I E S

NORFOLK SUFFOLK % OF % OF P O P U L AT I O N P O P U L AT I O N

Affluent Achievers • Lavish Lifestyles • Executive Wealth • Mature Money

20.9

21.8

Rising Prosperity

• City Sophisticates • Career Climbers

2.8

Comfortable Communities

• Countryside Communities • Successful Suburbs • Steady Neighbourhoods • Comfortable Seniors • Starting Out

42.8

Financially Stretched

• • • •

22.6

Urban Adversity

• Young Hardship 13.2 • Struggling Estates • Difficult Circumstances

12.3

Not Private Households

n/a

0.3

Student Life Modest Means Striving Families Poorer Pensioners

0.3