When you pop to the chippy on a Friday night, do you ever find that your portion of chips is too much?
I get that ALL the time, not just at my favourite chippy (Sou’s in Bolton if you’re asking), but pretty much every chippy I’ve visited. So much so, that if there are two of us eating, we usually share one portion of chips, and have separate fishes.
This is an eye-watering figure; to think that around half of chippy-lovers wind up chucking delicious chips away, is frankly depressing.
To tackle excessive food waste and promote healthier lifestyles, the seafood industry has launched a national campaign, which is where the ‘Don’t be a #ChippyChucker’ campaign comes in.
As a nation, a whole bunch of us love fish and chips – whether it’s at home on a Friday night or by Blackpool or Bridlington beach Whichever it is, fish and chips is a much loved British tradition.
However, with factors such as the current health agenda and the economic crunch taking effect, our independent chippies are suffering and the industry needs support.
The “Don’t be a #ChippyChucker” campaign is urging people to be more aware of portion control by stressing the health, economic and environmental benefits of making one simple change: asking for a portion size that they can manage.
Nowadays, more of us are becoming increasingly health-conscious and the government is heavily concerned about obesity rates. The industry wants people to be more aware of enjoying guilt-free fish and chips by opting for a more manageable portion size suited to them.
This is a great idea, and some restaurants already champion portion control (Olympus in Bolton is one such eatery that has a ‘Just Enough Fish & Chips’ on the menu.
The current lack of portion choice across the board is resulting in excessive food waste as studies show that 44% of us admit to throwing away some of our fish and chips. This results in over 18 thousand tonnes of food wastage each year.
The “Don’t Be a #ChippyChucker” campaign aims to reduce this by encouraging people to make sensible decisions when ordering fish and chips to avoid literally biting off more than we can chew.
Lighter portions are better for our health and lighter on our wallets – especially beneficial for those with families budgeting this summer. We can all enjoy the nation’s favourite meal by choosing a more sensible portion size that reduces both waste and waist-lines.
With this incentive in mind, tomorrow (Tuesday) is ‘Chippy Chucker Chooseday’, in which we want to encourage as many people as possible to choose their perfect portion of fish and chips and take to social media with pictures to promote the fact that they are “not a #ChippyChucker this #Chooseday” using these aforementioned hashtags.
By sharing your photos pictures and hash-tagging #ChippyChucker, the campaign aims to create a wave and show that empty plates mean empty bins, not empty stomachs!
Everyone loves #FishAndChips, but nobody likes a #ChippyChucker, so ask for a lighter portion of fish and chips from your chippy.
The campaign is non-profit, but it is for a good cause: to promote a healthier lifestyle whilst still supporting our nation’s businesses.Will you join in, in the chippy fun?