From the news room

Watch Minister for the Environment, Robyn Parker's video to find out more about 1 million women's upcoming Recipe for Change weekend, 16-18 November 2012.

The event is bringing women and girls, across Australia, together in homes, workplaces and local communities to share practical ways to save energy and water, reduce waste and save money.

To find out more watch the Recipe for Change video

As food lovers from across the state gather for the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show consumers are reminded to love food and hate waste.

The Love Food Hate Waste stand (Q22) will feature former Masterchef contestant, and Love Food Hate Waste Ambassador, Jay Huxley. Jay will be giving interactive cooking demonstrations to show you how to make quick and easy meals with leftovers.

You will also learn how you can avoid food waste and save money by:

• planning your meals
• shopping to a list
• serving the correct amount of food per person
• storing food correctly.

You can register to become a Food Lover and join the 2,000 people who already Love Food Hate Waste.

Program partner OzHarvest will also be joining Love Food Hate Waste. They will promote ways business can reduce food waste and support the community.

The show is being held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, from 22 to 24 June 2012. We look forward to seeing you there.

Jay Huxley - MasterChef Live! Love Food Hate Waste Ambassador
Photo courtesy the University of Western Sydney.

Come and see Jay Huxley create quick, easy and tasty meals using leftover ingredients.

Jay Huxley will be the Love Food Hate Waste Ambassador at MasterChef Live and he will be sharing his top tips on how you can avoid food waste and save money by:

• planning your meals
• shopping to a list
• serving the correct amount of food per person
• storing food correctly
• using your leftovers

MasterChef Live is on from 7-9 October at Moore Park. Sign up to become a Love Food Hate Waste Food Lover, receive a free menu planner and save $10 on your tickets.

This year MasterChef Live promises to be an even bigger cooking extravaganza with:

• more masterclasses from judges Gary and George and Australia's top chefs
• free interactive hands-on cooking schools
• Junior MasterChef workshops
• the chance to shop for amazing produce and cookware to help you become a MasterChef at home.

See your favourite chefs, judges and contestants teach you all the tips and tricks you need to become a MasterChef at home. Don't miss Jay's demonstration where he will share his recipes to turn leftover ingredients into tasty meals that could save your money.

For more information see MasterChefLive.com.au

For your chance to get a free menu planner simply sign up to become a Food Lover, the first 250 replies received will be sent a free menu planner. Remember to mention MasterChef Live in the Food Lover tips box.

Love Food Hate Waste and MasterChef Live are offering all Food Lovers a special deal on tickets. 

MasterChef Live Food Lovers Ticket offer – Save $10

Buy:

• 2 adult tickets for $50 (normally $60) or
• a family pass for $89 (normally $99)

Book in advance and receive a copy of MasterChef Magazine valued at $4.95. To book go to premier.ticketek.com.au and enter your promotional code MCL03 or call ticketek on 132 849 and quote the code.

As food lovers from across the state gather for the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show consumers are reminded to love food and hate waste.

Find out how you can avoid food waste and save money by:

• planning your meals
• shopping to a list
• serving the correct amount of food per person
• storing food correctly.

The Love Food Hate Waste stand (P38) will feature an interactive cooking demonstration showing how to make quick and easy meals with leftovers and what to do with vegetables left in the bottom of the crisper at the end of the week.

Program partner OzHarvest will also be joining the Love Food Hate Waste team to promote ways business can reduce food waste and support the community.

The show is being held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, from 1 to 3 July 2011.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Media resources:

• View media release
  (Online, website)

The Love Food Hate Waste Program offered local councils, non-profit organisations and community groups the opportunity to apply for grant funding to assist with the implementation and evaluation of local food waste reduction education programs targeting households.

In Round 1 (commencing in 2010-2011) a total of approximately $160,000 is available. Individual organisations could apply for grants of up to $10,000, and partnerships of two or more organisations could apply for up to $30,000. Applications for Round 1 have now closed.

Further funding is planned for Round 2 (2011-2012), but applicants will only be eligible for one round of funding.

more

Note: Applications for Round 2 funding is now open.

The NSW Government is urging households to think before they buy this festive season to avoid food waste.

As part of its Love Food Hate Waste campaign, the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW has prepared an online guide to buying, storing and preparing food this Christmas, being launched at Southgate Shopping Centre in Sylvania at 9.45am today (Wednesday).

DECCW's head of Sustainability Programs Bernard Carlon said the Love Food Hate Waste website includes tips and advice on buying and correctly storing popular festive foods like cherries, ham, turkey and prawns.

"NSW households waste more than $2.5 billion of food every year, with food making up the single biggest component of most households' garbage bins," Mr Carlon said.

Media resources:

• Download media release | View media release online
  (MediaRelease_LFHW_this_Christmas.doc, DOC, 192kb)

Food lovers visiting the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show were encouraged to love their food by planning their meals, shopping to a list and storing their food correctly to avoid it ending up in the bin.

Love Food Hate Waste was the key message that the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW promoted at this year's Sydney Good Food and Wine Show.

Members from the Love Food Hate Waste team were at the show talking about the issue of food waste in NSW. Many visitors were shocked that over $2.5 billion worth of edible food is wasted in NSW each year. The Love Food Hate Waste team also provided information and tips on ways visitors can avoid food waste at home through planning their meals, shopping to a list, measuring serving sizes and storing food correctly.

The stand featured a cooking demonstration focusing on leftover ingredients and what to do with those extra vegetables that are left in the bottom of the crisper at the end of the week. The Love Food Hate Waste chef created some delicious pastas, stir fry dishes and salads, pointing out that we often have enough ingredients at home to make a delicious meal.

Almost 300 visitors registered as Food Lovers providing their top tips on what they do at home to avoid food waste. Over the next few weeks the Food Lover tips will be loaded onto the website, so be sure to visit and find out more ways to Love Food Hate Waste.

Simon Marnie, presenter of Weekends on ABC 702 discusses with Bernard Carlon, Divisional Director of the Sustainability Programs Division with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water about how we can waste less food, save money and the environment.

Media resources:

• Talkabout Saturday with Simon Marnie
  Visit ABC 702 website