Our columnist is on the right track
I’ve never been one for tracking my expenditure, but a few years ago I decided to log my food spend for the month of January, and encouraged my followers on Instagram to do the same, with the hashtag #yellowjanuary. The rationale of following your food spend being that it brings an awareness of habits and patterns. Plus, becoming more conscious will affect change. It seems to have become quite the yearly tradition, and this January was no different. I noted all the money that I spent on food shopping, and eating out, sharing the results online on a weekly basis. I’ve bought reduced foods for so long now that there are no huge surprises when I track my spend; I think a full-priced shop would floor me. I do, however, spend less when tracking, as I’m much more mindful of what I need, how I’m going to use whatever I buy, and what I already have that needs using. It also makes me appreciate how little I need to food shop.
Throughout the month, I ate surplus food at work from team meetings, or food shared by work friends. I was given vegetables from my work bestie’s allotment. A friend gave me portion packs of rice and couscous after having a kitchen clear-out. There’s a shop that I pass on my commute which leaves any food that they can’t sell outside in a crate. I helped myself to corn, pears, pineapple, potatoes and melon. I picked up a bunch of bananas left on a wall on a high street. Not only did I collect food, including vegan chocolates, cakes, almonds, pie, fruit and vegetables, using the food sharing app Olio, but I volunteered as a food waste hero and collected a haul from Pret a Manger, and distributed it on the Olio app. I was re-gifted vegan goodies from an Instagram friend who wouldn’t use them - tahini, wine, supplements, protein - where do I get my protein from? Well, now you know!