Every Canadian has been there. It's the day after a big holiday meal and the refrigerator is overflowing with leftovers. Turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, pumpkin pie — you'll eat some of it, sure. But what about the rest?
The disturbing reality is that, in many households, a lot of perfectly good food just gets thrown away.
In fact, food waste doubles in volume in Canada after the holidays, making it even more important to use up those leftovers so they don't end up in the trash.
Canadians throw out so much edible food that garbage trucks (which cart off 63% of edible food waste) have been called "Canada's most popular food trucks."
If you lack inspiration on what to do with all of that extra food, Hellmann's has just launched the perfect app to help out.
Fridge Night is a free, easy-to-use app that can help Canadians dramatically reduce their household waste. It's also a great way to save money, time and, frankly, the planet.
The app is based on the findings from one of the longest and largest consumer behaviour-change studies on household food waste. Conducted by Hellmann’s and global experts, the study followed 1,000 Canadian families to figure out how to curb wasteful habits.
And Fridge Night does just that. By teaching users neat ways to use up the food they already have at home and committing to a regular "Use-Up Day” (a day when you use up everything in your fridge), the app can help cut food waste by a third.
Central to the app, alongside Use-Up Day, is Hellmann's "Flexipe" philosophy — a simple "3+1" approach that uses everyday ingredients found in your kitchen to create a satisfying meal (like this delicious one-pot creamy pasta).
Fridge Night even features weekly challenges hosted by Chef Andy Hay, MasterChef Canada All Stars Finalist, like "Fakeout in 15," in which users try to whip up their fave takeout in 15 minutes. There’s also "The Mystery Ingredient Change Up," where you transform a familiar meal into something new by changing just one thing.
These are more than just fun games. Hellmann’s has partnered with Second Harvest so that, for every meal completed through the weekly challenges, a meal will be donated to someone in need.
You can also earn rewards for completing the challenges, including up to $10 off Unilever products through U Shop, like Hellmann's, Lipton, St. Ives, TRESemmé, Tazo and more.
By downloading the app, you’ll join a whole community of Fridge Night users with whom you can share tips, tricks and recipe hacks using the in-app forum.
With free rewards, fun challenges plus the knowledge that you're doing your part to save the planet and help Canadians in need, why wouldn't you?
If you want to reduce your food waste this holiday season, you can download Hellmann's Fridge Night app, available now on both Android and iOS.
Hellmann's Fridge Night App
When: Available now
Where: Google Play or the Apple Store
Details: Download the Fridge Night app and complete challenges to support Canadians in need and win rewards, including up to $10 off Unilever products, while reducing wasted food.