UK: People who grow their own fruit and veg waste less food and eat more healthily, says research
Approximately one in eight UK households lacks access to a garden. And, since the 1950s, the availability of allotments throughout the UK has declined by 60%.
By Boglarka Zilla Gulyas, Jill Edmondson
The Conversation
Sept 12, 2023
Excerpt:
However, our recent study revealed that those who grow their own food in gardens and allotments waste an average of just 3.4kg of fruits and vegetables – 95% less than the UK average. These households adopted various practices to minimise food waste, including preserving or giving away their excess produce.
There has been renewed interest in growing fresh produce in gardens, community gardens and allotments in the UK and elsewhere in recent years. But the available supply of allotments is not enough to meet increasing demand.
Allocating more land for household fruit and vegetable production could make a significant contribution to the availability of fresh produce for urban residents.
Research has shown that using a mere 10% of the available space in the English city of Sheffield for food cultivation could supply enough fruit and vegetables to meet the needs of 15% of the city’s population. And more people growing their own food could also reduce waste.
