North Yorkshire pumpkin carvers are being urged to join the Pumpkin Rescue this Halloween.
Halloween is Britain’s third biggest commercial celebration, after Christmas and Easter, and the country’s second biggest party night after New Year’s Eve, but every year a shocking number of edible pumpkins go to waste.
More than a quarter of all Halloween pumpkins end up in landfill – that’s 18,000 tonnes of food – and many more go straight into the compost bin without being eaten.
Charity Hubbub and North Yorkshire County Council are urging pumpkin carvers to join the biggest yet Pumpkin Rescue. Every pumpkin eaten is a step towards tackling the seven million tonnes of food and drink that is thrown away from UK homes every year.
The County Council will be attending events during October to show families how to cook with their carvings and avoid the leftovers going to landfill:
- Saturday, 14 October: Apple Day at Ripon Walled Garden, 10am to 4pm.
- Saturday, 21 October: Pickering market, 9am to 3pm with Nigel Brown’s cookery demonstration.
- Friday, 27 October: Easingwold market stall, 9am to 2pm.
County Councillor Andrew Lee, Executive Member for Waste Management, said: “We encourage families to keep food waste to a minimum all year round, but it’s particularly important at festival times such as Halloween, which can be expensive, that we make the most of our money and our food. Our events will give families ideas and recipes to add another dimension to their Halloween celebrations.”
Trewin Restorick, Founder and CEO of Hubbub, said: “As Halloween continues to grow in popularity in the UK, it’s really important that this doesn’t create an ever larger mountain of food waste. We must recognise that pumpkins are a valuable source of food and not just for decoration, if we are to tackle the seven million tonnes of food and drink wasted from British homes each year. Halloween is a great opportunity to help our children understand where food comes from and involve them in cooking a simple meal with their pumpkin carvings.”
People can also follow the #PumpkinRescue social media campaign for videos, recipes and tips on saving money on food bills.