The uneaten pumpkins, if laid out one by one, would stretch 2,816Km which is almost the same distance as travelling from John O’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall and then back again.
Tessa Tricks, creative partner of Hubbub, said: “Pumpkins are a valuable source of food and are not just for decoration. Even if it’s labelled a carving pumpkin, you can still eat it and it will taste delicious with spices like chilli, ginger or cumin.
“We know that over lockdown people developed a new-found love of cooking form scratch and are generally valuing food more, so we’re urging people to try a new recipe this Halloween and make the most of every part of this nutritious and versatile food.”
Every year 6.6m tonnes of food & drink is thrown away in UK homes. New research suggests one in seven people who celebrate Halloween don’t even think of pumpkin as food and only 42% of people realise you can eat a carving pumpkin from the supermarket.
Chef Nena Foster, who is supporting the campaign, added: “Pumpkin is really versatile- it goes particularly well in savoury dishes like soups stews, chilli and risottos, as well as sweet bakes like pies, cakes, scones and biscuits.
“If you’re carving a pumpkin this Halloween with your children, you can also use the bits you’d usually throw away to get cooking.”
Hubbub is also encouraging people to compost their carved pumpkin. The Hubbub website contains pumpkin recipes for you to try, including fermented pumpkin & apple soda, pumpkin kimchi and Thai pumpkin soup.