One third of food produced globally is going to waste with the UK alone throwing away 9.52 million tonnes of food per year. The most commonly wasted household foods are potatoes, bread, milk and bananas, with each household producing around 1.96kg of food waste per day. We produce enough food globally to provide an additional 10.5 billion meals from just the edible food that is wasted per year, and this food waste not only takes a toll on the environment but could also be used to provide for those struggling to afford food through donations.
With the cost of living crisis affecting living costs this is highly affecting students who rely on student finance loans. Students face higher increases to bills, food and rent with one third of students now living on less than £50 a month leading to 11% relying on food banks. As a student it is often difficult to afford food shopping, avoid food waste and cook healthy meals. Many times ingredients only come in multi packs or with very short expiry dates so when cooking for one it can difficult to reduce your food waste. With living costs seeing a 14% increase from last year there is even more pressure on students to be able to afford the necessities so it is important to provide healthy options that can also reduce their waste.
ReFresh is a sub brand of Hello Fresh aiming to tackle food waste among students by providing them with quick and easy recipes where they can use their food that is going to waste alongside the requested pre portioned ingredients delivered straight to their door. Through the app, students can filter the recipes by dietary restrictions, meals or dietary preferences as well as searching what ingredient they have spare to see recipes including that item. Being affordable is important to the brand with its focus being on students, so customers will receive rewards and discounts for every ingredient they save in our aim to provide students with low cost meals. As well as tackling food waste, ReFresh aims to be sustainable with their packaging using as little as they can and delivering your food in cardboard letter box parcels keeping the design minimal to reduce ink and water use.
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