Sainsburys Feed a Family for £50





I have to say that this is actually a brilliant concept. Even if you do not follow the exact plan there are many benefits to be had, especially if are not comfortable with meal planning, portion control and budgeting. The meals are nutritionally balanced and include your five a day fruit and veg. On top of all that, to stick to the £50, you can’t afford to waste any food.

There are a few caveats, you do need to have certain items in your store cupboard already, such as flour, oil, mayonnaise and spices. You will also have to pay for transport to and from the Supermarket or delivery. Drinks, desserts and snacks are extra.

Sainsburys first ran the feed a family for under £50 in 1994, 17 years ago, so how can we manage to do the same again now?

A lot of it is down to tiered branding. The ‘Basics’ range seem ridiculously cheap and the prices attract us to the shop. We then trade up to a level we are more confident in/comfortable to be seen buying, at a much higher price. The basics price range is kept artificially low and the hope is that few people will actually buy them.

With organic, animal welfare issues we will only shop where the highest standards are available, and then trade down to a price we like, sad but true.

Of course, just because you might be following the Sainsburys plan, doesn’t mean that you have to limit your shopping to them. Fruit and veg will almost certainly be cheaper from your local market stall.

Oxfam Warns Of Food Crisis

The average price of staple foods will more than double in the next 20 years, leading to an unprecedented reversal in human development, Oxfam has warned.

The world's poorest people, who spend up to 80% of their income of food, will be hit hardest according to the charity. It said the world is entering an era of permanent food crisis, which is likely to be accompanied by political unrest and will require radical reform of the international food system.

Research to be published on Wednesday (2/6/11) forecasts international prices of staples such as maize could rise by as much as 180% by 2030, with half of that rise due to the impacts of climate change.

After decades of steady decline in the number of hungry people around the world, the numbers are rapidly increasing as demand outpaces food production. The average growth rate in agricultural yields has almost halved since 1990 and is set to decline to a fraction of 1% in the next decade.

A devastating combination of factors – climate change, depleting natural resources, a global scramble for land and water, the rush to turn food into biofuels, a growing global population, and changing diets – have created the conditions for an increase in deep poverty.

"We are sleepwalking towards an age of avoidable crisis," Oxfam's chief executive, Barbara Stocking, said. "One in seven people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that the world is capable of feeding everyone. The food system must be overhauled."



Is it time for a Nouvelle Cuisine revival?

Britain's restaurants throw away more than 600,000 tons of food each year, or 22 tons per eatery, which means that half a kilo of food is wasted every time someone eats out, according to the first detailed waste snapshot of the sector.

Nearly one-third of all wasted food comes back from customers' plates, suggesting that British restaurateurs are following the lead set by their American counterparts and serving portions that are too large.

The bulk of the rest is thrown away during the preparation stage, according to a report published by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Some of the chefs surveyed in the report are already learning from the research. Nitin Padwal, head chef of Petrichor, at the Cavendish Hotel, said he was surprised that so much preparation waste was discarded. "The majority of it was orange skin and potato peelings. Now we are using up the potato peelings still with good potato bits on and doing skin-on chips for the staff canteen and orange marmalade for our breakfast in the restaurant," he said.

Michael Howie, head chef at the Three Stags gastro pub in north London, said: "The numbers from this survey will really help staff to understand how much food waste we produce here, and why it's important to try and reduce it."

A Japanese chef in Sydney may have the answer to plate waste - If you don’t clean your plate, don’t come back.

Those who leave food behind at chef Yukako Ichikawa’s restaruant, Wafu, are informally banned from returning. As she put it, “(When they try to return), if I remember their face, I say no,” Ichikawa said.

In addition to that hard line, Ichikawa also provides an incentive for her customers to eat all of their food.Diners able to polish off their old-fashioned Japanese meal get 30 percent off their bill and an invitation to join Ichikawa’s exclusive list of more than 800 regulars.