Families in Glasgow, Liverpool and Nottingham are particularly likely to be wasting high amounts of money on food that goes uneaten, a survey indicates.
The survey of more than 2,000 UK parents of children aged four to 12 found that 60% said their children refuse to eat a meal they are served at least once a week.
The average amount that parents estimated their family wasted annually on uneaten food was £283 – with families in Glasgow estimating they waste £369 on average, according to the research for Bernard Matthews.
Liverpool was another food waste hotspot in the survey, with an estimated £316 wasted annually typically by families, while in Nottingham, the average annual food waste bill was found to be £315.
In London and Belfast, families were also found to be wasting more than £300 per year on average on uneaten food, according to the research, carried out by Censuswide in May.
At the other end of the spectrum, families in Bristol estimated they were wasting £198 per year typically.
Half (50%) of parents surveyed felt that encouraging their child to play with food would help to reduce the pressure.
Laurence Hinton, head of marketing at Bernard Matthews, said: “Parents agree that playing with your food can take some of the pressure out of mealtimes, encouraging children to engage positively with food and ultimately making family meals more enjoyable and less wasteful.”
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Here are the average amounts parents estimate they waste on food annually across various UK cities, according to the survey:
Glasgow, £369
Liverpool, £316
Nottingham, £315
London, £312
Belfast, £306
Leeds, £299
Edinburgh, £291
Newcastle, £286
Cardiff, £285
Birmingham, £277`
Manchester, £252
Sheffield, £251
Plymouth, £250
Brighton, £243
Southampton, £240
Norwich, £235
Bristol, £198
