Inviting over 100 schools from the Food for Thought programme to enter, the Halloween-themed competition required participants to create a recipe using up leftovers, which were then judged by Jen Robertson and Mairi Sutherland from QMS’s health and education team as well as representatives from Business in the Community Scotland and Zero Waste Scotland.
The four named winners were: Alex Ferguson from St Paul’s High School, Renfrewshire, who was praised for his ‘spooky sausage kebab with a grim graveyard salad;’ Alexandra Parade Primary School; Taynuilt Primary School and Granton Primary School.
Having met the criteria, including “how the recipe could save food from the bin as well as its taste and whether it was healthy,” the winners were awarded specially made ‘Don’t be afraid of your leftovers’ aprons, their recipes hosted on the Love Food Hate Waste website and goodie bags from Quality Meat Scotland.
Jen Robertson, health and education co-ordinator at QMS, said: “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.
“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.”
Owner and chef of Wedgwood the Restaurant, Edinburgh, Paul Wedgwood, added: “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!”
Ylva Haglund, Food Waste campaigns manager at Zero Waste Scotland, also commented: “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 (£1.35 billion annual) food waste problem by 33% by 2025.”