Everyday Devotion: Food Waste

Food Waste


Did you know that UK households are responsible for wasting 6.5million tonnes of food per year of which 4.5 million tonnes are edible. Avoidable food waste is estimated to have emissions of 20million tonnes CO2e each year - the same as flying London-New York more than 22 thousand times! (An explanation of what CO2e is can be found here). By reducing food waste, we can help take care of the planet and save £60 per month! Here are some tips to get started:

How you store your food is really important and can help extend the shelf-life. Here is an A-Z of ideal food-storage.

  1. Plan your shopping so you are buying what you need, and able to finish everything before it goes off.

  2. Use-by or best before? A ‘best before' is safe to eat after that time, it is just a guideline to show you when peak freshness is expected.

  3. Keep your fridge/cupboards organised so you know what is going out of date first.

  4. If you have leftovers, even that little bit left on your plate, keep it for a snack or to be incorporated into another meal later on.

  5. Get creative with what is left in the fridge to rustle-up a meal. Here is a simple recipe search tool to suit all your eaty-up meals!

  6. If you can’t eat your ‘spare’ food, give it away. The Olio app is a great way to give away and pick up food for free.

How about taking up a couple of these easy tips for Lent, and see what a difference it makes to your household? 

Alice Corrie

Everyday Devotion: Revival not Resolutions

Revival Not Resolutions

I recently shared my testimony on a moment of revival in my own life and the impact it has had on my day-to-day choices. Here are a few things I’ve found useful along the way and which I hope you’ll find helpful in your own pursuit of revival:

Pray – the volume and scale of issues we face is enormous but we know poverty, pollution and injustice (among other things) are not from God. But God has a plan and a purpose for each of us so pray about what your role is, where you should start and for those in positions of power.

Learn – we’ll be sharing information and ideas with you throughout the year but I’ve really enjoyed these books for those who want to delve a bit deeper:

  • L is for Lifestyle and Saying Yes to Life both by Ruth Valerio

  • The Radical Disciple by John Stott

  • How to be an Anti Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

  • The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

  • Factfulness by Hans Rosling

  • There is no Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee

  • And next on my list, recommended by John Bryant, is God Doesn’t Do Waste by Dave Bookless

Do – small steps in the right direction are an antidote to feeling overwhelmed. Try https://zero.giki.earth/ for a library of ideas on how to live more sustainably (which can be filtered based on ease and impact).

Claire Williams

Everyday Devotion: Christmas

With Christmas barrelling towards us here are some homemade gift ideas and a few other tips to help your pocket as well as the planet:

  • Chocolate truffles – melt 100g dark chocolate and stir in 100g coconut cream and ¼ tsp orange/mint/vanilla/coffee extract. Leave to set, shape into balls and dust with cocoa powder or ground nuts.

  • Toffees – melt together 50g sugar, 50g vegan block, 1 tin Nature’s Charm condensed coconut milk and boil for around 4-5 minutes until turning golden brown and gloopy. Pour into a greaseproof paper lined tray and set in the fridge before cutting up.

  • Bath bombs – try out this recipe.

  • Wrapping paper – Knot wrap with old/charity shop scarves or use waste tissue paper.

  • Crackers – opt for recyclable, reusable or homemade.

  • Advent calendars – Divine do fairtrade chocolate advent calendars or even better go for a reusable one or make your own.

  • Cards – send a free e-card or try Amnesty International’s cards which are made in the UK with compostable packaging and recyclable card.

And here’s a few offers we’ve come across this month:

  • Ecotricity are a green energy supplier and will donate up to £50 to Friends of the Earth when you switch to them.

  • Get 10% off at National Trust’s online store until 23 December 2020 with code NTMAG20.

  • Triodos are running a refer a friend scheme if you’d like to switch to an ethical bank.

  • Amazon donate to your chosen charity (at no extra cost to you) when you purchase through their Smile service.

Claire Williams

Everyday Devotion: The first one!

Welcome to the first edition of our new column Everyday Devotion. Each month Claire and I will be sharing ideas and tips for how we can worship God and look after Creation in our everyday choices. This week’s article is about shopping and next month Claire will share some homemade gift ideas. If you’d like us to cover anything specific or have any ideas you want to share please do get in touch at office@enc.uk.net and don't please forget to complete our survey for a chance of winning a hamper full of sustainable products.

When giving money away, we usually consider carefully where it is going. But do we give the same consideration when spending? The hidden injustices in our supply chains can be overwhelming but the good news is that alternatives exist and our day to day choices make a difference. First, if you buy less, you are responsible for less (carbon, plastic and supply chain injustice) so reducing wherever you can is a great start. Where you can't, plant based, plastic free, local and fairtrade can be found at:

  • Zero (Fore Street) - zero waste and fairtrade products.

  • Seasons (Well Street) - 100% vegan shop.

  • Real Food Store (Queens Street) - local and sustainable food/drink.

  • Nourish (Magdalen Road & Topsham) - packaging free grocery store.

  • FillFull (Ottery St Mary) - eco shopping and refills.

  • Exeter Farmers Market (Top of South Street, every Thursday Morning).

Second hand is also a great option particularly with clothing. Exeter has really good charity and vintage shops (Sobeys, Peachy Tipi, The Real McCoy, Parade Vintage, My Ex Wardrobe). For new items try Sanchos (Fore Street) or use Ethical Consumer Magazine to help you find ethical alternatives. Online you can avoid retail giants like Amazon and find items you’d like from:

  • Free cycle - give away and collect unwanted items for free.

  • Olio - an app for giving away and collecting unwanted items for free including food and drink.

  • Facebook marketplace, Shpock, Ebay and GumTree - sell and buy new and used items.

  • Ethical Superstore and Ethical Shop - both have a wide range of new items to purchase. Ethical Superstore do free delivery on orders over £50 and Ethical Shop are offering free delivery on orders over £40 before 15 November with code ESOCTPP.

Alice Corrie