British overspend on food at Christmas by over £1bn

The average British households who say they usually buy too much food at Christmas, splash out £83.72 more than they need. Together, that's a whopping £1,109,290,000, according to a new nationwide poll by ComRes for charity Christian Aid about Christmas charitable giving and festive food waste habits.

Fifty per cent of British public say they feel they usually overspend on food at Christmas.
North East most likely to say they overspend on festive food (66 per cent)
Welsh reported to be most frugal when spending on food at Christmas (43 per cent)
West Midlands say they bin the most sprouts (21 percent)
The North East say they throw away the most mince pies (14 percent)

The poll is published as Christian Aid launches stop-motion film, 'Oh What A Waste', using real food from the traditional Christmas dinner, combined with a unique version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, to highlight the vast quantity of edibles the UK public throws away every year.

The statistics used in the film are based on existing research and include 70 million mince pies, four million puddings and two million turkeys. The film is part of the charity's annual Christmas Appeal, and is encouraging people to waste less this Christmas and spend on food that saves lives.

For every pound the public give to the appeal to support people living in poverty, the UK Government will also give a pound. That's double the support for families struggling to feed themselves in South Sudan, meaning even more mothers and infants under-five in South Sudan will be saved from the life-threatening effects of malnutrition.

Ian Livett, Head of Fundraising, said: "Oh What A Waste is a bit of festive fun but it highlights a serious message. If we're all bit more careful with our Christmas food shop, buying only what we need, then we can save more, waste less and save lives.

"Poor people across the globe, including those in South Sudan, still go to bed hungry. An estimated six million people in Africa alone facing food insecurity. If left untreated, acute malnutrition - the most extreme type of food crisis - can result in death. But hunger is not inevitable and there is enough food in the world to feed everyone.

"Please do share the film, waste less and donate what you can to our Christmas Appeal - with all donations being doubled by the UK Government."

Watch the film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIdodXcAz0k