Easy to end up with unwanted food

I often end up with edible items over Christmas that I don’t like, can’t eat, or just won’t use before it expires.  

  • Drinks brought to (and left) at a party that we don’t like
  • A box of biscuits containing an ingredient I am intolerant to
  • Something for a visitor but they didn’t take it

Here are some tips of how I re-home food items in good time before they expire.  

“Best before” V’s “Use by” dates

It is important to remember that “best before dates” are just advisory and show that before X date the product is at it’s best. Most things are still fine to eat after the “best before date”. They just won’t be at their best. It’s the “use by date” that can be the more important one to pay attention to. Check out this handy infographic by Love Food Hate Waste for all the details.

Some ideas for re-homing things

  1. Take it to work, create a food swap box and encourage other people to bring things in. Someone will love the thing that you don’t.
  2. Re-home it on Olio, an amazing food sharing app. It’s fine to share things that have been opened, as long as you state this in the description, and it is still safe to eat.
  3. Take it to a food bank (unopened items only). There is a map of food bank locations online but you can also do an internet search for “food bank name of your town”. Do check what they are able to take, as this can vary depending on their storage facilities.
  4. Ask your neighbours if they would use the item.
  5. If you have a local friends or family WhatsApp group, post the item on there. Encourage others to do the same.
A screen shot of the Olio app showing food available to collect.
Some of what’s available from the Olio app in my area right now! They have non-food as well.

REMEMBER, these ideas are great for the whole year, not just Christmas!