Curry favour and cut waste
SAINSBURY’S environment manager Alison Austin says the company is encouraging people to limit the amount of food they throw away by offering alternatives.
She says: “As a successful business we are dependant upon our customers and we want them to come back time and time again.
“This only happens if they are satisfied and they’ve been telling us they want to know how they can keep fruit and vegetables in good condition and how they can use it in a better way.
“It is about getting the most out of what they buy and it’s about giving advice about cooking.
“We have found our customers like to cook but our job is to make it as convenient as possible.”
Alison says the best way for shoppers to get the most out of their food is to shop smart, store well and use leftovers imaginatively.
“Smarter shopping and thinking properly about what you are going to use is a good way to buy food,” she says.
“Our research shows that shoppers in the Midlands tend to use their leftovers in curries and stir fries so as a region you are doing well.
“Smart shopping is all about buying the right kinds of quantities and not being seduced into buying in bulk if you don’t need it.
“To help customers with this we try to offer both prepackaged and loose varieties of the same kinds of foods as it means if you are a single person household, you can just pick up the amounts you actually need.
“You can get into a form of ‘sleepshopping’ where you just buy things automatically without thinking about it, but we want to encourage people to change that kind of thinking.”
