Sharing our passion for nutrition across borders

Cath Dumont at The Great Unwaste campaign.

Our Nutrition Education team is continuing to make an impact well beyond Western Australia, helping to grow national understanding of food waste and healthy food behaviours.

Recently, Cath travelled to South Australia to train the Foodbank South Australian and Northern Territory nutrition staff on The Great Unwaste – Australia’s first nationwide behaviour‑change campaign designed to help households reduce food waste at home.

The campaign focuses on seven evidence‑based behaviours that support households to waste less, save money and contribute to a more sustainable future.

During her visit, Cath delivered a detailed wrap‑up of everything we’ve achieved in The Great Unwaste space since September last year when our partnership began. She was able to share the incredibly positive feedback we’ve received to date, particularly from participants attending our presentations and the partnerships we’ve developed with local government authorities through the campaign.

The Great Unwaste campaign draws on extensive national insights into household waste behaviours, showing that combined average Australian households throws out 2.5 million tonnes of food each year which is equivalent to 7.7 million meals a day, with most people wasting twice as much food as they think.

Cath also delivered a practical Great Unwaste workshop to 16 enthusiastic participants at the City of Charles Stuart, guiding them through the seven behaviours and exploring the small, everyday habits that can significantly reduce food waste. Participants were delighted to take home a Foodbank South Australia and Northern Territory meal pack, which included minestrone soup or a tuna pasta bake. The food packs contained all of the necessary non-perishable foods and contained a note with a reminder to purchase the fresh components – onions and carrots, to help them put their learning into action.

The Great Unwaste movement reinforces that a few simple changes such as better storage, smarter meal planning, and making the most of leftovers can save households up to $2,500 – $2,700 per year. These small steps also reduce our environmental impact and help Australia achieve its national goal to halve food waste by 2030.

Cath’s visit marks another exciting step in expanding the reach of our nutrition education and strengthening collaboration across the Foodbank network.

Watch out, world: our nutritionists are taking over, one state at a time! And this is just the beginning.