South Gloucestershire
Climate and Food Communications Toolkit

Comms toolkit – Climate Emergency

Food and climate change – April/May 2022

Food production has a big impact on the environment, but you don’t need to become vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or anything else – simple, everyday changes to what we

eat, where we buy our food and how we use it can make a difference to our carbon emissions and actually save money.

Where food comes from

– Locally produced and seasonal food produces fewer emissions from travel. Seasonal food is more likely to have travelled by boat rather than air and local/UK produce has even less distance to travel. Find out more Eat the Seasons

– Growing some of your fruit and veg is easier than you think and definitely cuts food miles for at least part of the year! Apples, strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and spinach are all easy to grow. Find out more Grow your own fruit, vegetables & herbs / RHS Gardening

How we use food

– Throwing away food that could have been eaten contributes to climate change because we are wasting the land, fertilisers and water that went into growing it as well the greenhouse gases created from its production and transportation. Wasted food accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions globally than all the commercial flights we take each year.

– There are lots of ways to reduce food waste which is better for the planet and our pockets. Washing, instead of peeling vegetables, using up leftovers and planning portions and meals prevents the energy, water, and resources that went into producing our food from being wasted. Find out more Love Food Hate Waste

What we eat

Different foods have different levels of environmental impact. Meat has a very high carbon footprint because of the food needed for livestock. Simply planning one or two meat free days a week is an easy way to reduce your impact. Find out more Why it matters – Meat Free Monday (meatfreemondays.com)

Why you should use this toolkit

As an organisation or business in the community, you are in a great position to help influence change that will protect nature and tackle climate change. The social media toolkit below has been prepared to help you promote changes related to food and climate change.

Food is one of the easiest ways for everyone to reduce our impact on the environment and raising awareness through your social media channels will show your support for change.

How to use this kit

Simply share the posts and graphics below to help spread these messages. We’ll be posting on our social media channels about food waste and climate change in March and April.

You can make changes to the text to suit your social media platforms and use the graphics separately or as part of a post.

Facebook	Twitter
Most people are doing more to protect the environment with simple changes to what they eat. Just one meat free day a week can make a difference to your carbon footprint – find out more at www.meatfreemondays.com/calculator #MeatFreeMonday #PlanetFriendlyDiet	Protect the environment with your food choices. Just 1 meat free day a week will cut your carbon footprint. #MeatFreeMonday
Want to save money AND do your bit for the environment? Planning a couple of meat free days every week will help reduce your food bills. #MeatFreeMondays	Save money with easy changes to your food habits. 2 meat free days a week will cut your food bill. #MeatFreeMondays
Act now to cut your food miles 4 great reasons to eat seasonal food: – less energy and fuel used – usually cheaper – support more local suppliers – better for you – fresher, tastier, and more nutritious. Find out what’s in season – www.eattheseasons.co.uk	#EatTheSeasons to cut your carbon footprint – seasonal food is less likely to have travelled by air and has a lower carbon impact.
Avoiding food waste is one of the easiest ways to save money and do your bit for the environment. Make the most of your food at home: – Buy what you eat – use a shopping list – Eat what you buy – plan meals and use food before it goes off – Freeze food you can’t use straight away – Recycle what’s left – put food you can’t eat in your food recycling bin	#LoveFoodHateWaste to make the most of the food you buy, cut your carbon and save money.
#LoveFoodHateWaste
Act now to save money and cut carbon – simply using up leftovers for another meal saves money and cuts food waste. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com	Love your leftovers – using up leftovers for lunch cuts food waste and saves you money. #LoveYourLeftovers
It’s easy to grow salad, strawberries and tomatoes in the garden or containers. It’s a great activity for the kids to get involved with and cuts food miles. #GrowYourOwn	Get growing for fresh nutritious salad and veg at home. Lettuce, tomatoes, raspberries, and courgettes are easy to grow and will help cut your carbon. #GrowYourOwn
A lot of the food we throw away could have been eaten. Take a few minutes every week to plan some meals before you go shopping – it’ll help you buy what you need. It’s a great way to save money and cut your carbon footprint at the same time. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com	Plan a few meals each week – it’ll avoid wasted food (and money). www.lovefoodhatewaste.com