Pupils Encouraged to Make “Frightful” Good Use of Leftovers

Four Scottish Schools have been named winners of the “Don’t be afraid of your leftovers” recipe competition, run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland along with Business in the Community Scotland on behalf of Food For Thought.

With food waste a £1.35 billion annual problem in Scotland, the organisations teamed up to host a Halloween-themed competition in a bid to teach children about the “frightful” amount of food wasted in Scotland every year. Over 100 schools from the Food for Thought programme were invited to enter the competition to create a recipe using up leftovers.

As a result, four individual pupils and classes were selected for their spooktacular recipes. Among them was Alex Ferguson from St Paul’s High School, Renfrewshire who created a Spooky Sausage Kebab with a Grim Graveyard Salad.

The other school winners were Alexandra Parade Primary School, Taynuilt Primary School and Granton Primary School. All the pupils were presented with their certificates by chef Paul Wedgwood, from Edinburgh’s Wedgwood the Restaurant.

The recipes were judged by Jen Robertson and Mairi Sutherland of QMS’s Health and Education team as well as representatives from Business in the Community Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland.

The criteria they looked at included how the recipe could save food from the bin as well as its taste and whether it was healthy.

“This was a fantastic project to be a part of with our Good Family Food site which focuses on encouraging Scottish families to eat a healthy and balanced diet,” said Jen Robertson, Health and Education Co-ordinator at QMS.

“It was excellent to see how involved the children got in creating their recipes and to see how engaged and understanding they were about the importance of using up leftovers.”

Paul Wedgwood, owner and chef of Wedgwood the Restaurant, Edinburgh, said: “It’s important we teach children the positive message about how we can make the most of the food we love and how to use up leftover ingredients in new meals. Kids love Halloween so what better way to bring to life this issue and have some fun!”

The competition which ran from 1st September until 6th October was first announced at the launch event of the Food for Thought’s Phase 5 at Celtic Park in Glasgow. The winning teams won specially made “Don’t be afraid of your leftovers” aprons, recipes hosted on the Love Food Hate Waste website and goodie bags from Quality Meat Scotland.

Ylva Haglund, Food Waste Campaigns Manager, Zero Waste Scotland, said:

“Food waste is a major issue in Scotland and educating future generations about this problem is a major priority for us. This partnership was a great way to engage schools across Scotland and bring to life the concept of food waste and engage the children in a way they can easily understand and enjoy learning. Projects like this are vital as we work towards Scotland’s ambitious target to reduce the nation’s food waste by 33% by 2025.”