HelloFresh has teamed up with low-waste chef and social media star Max La Manna to launch the ‘CurrEATulum’, a food waste syllabus built in partnership with Social Farms & Gardens to educate British school children on the importance of food waste reduction.

Award-winning author and low-waste chef, Max La Manna, is marking the launch of the campaign by hosting a class of school children at the North London community garden, Sufra, in a bid to enthuse and educate them on the simple steps that can be taken at home in the fight against food waste.

The announcement follows new research from the leading recipe kit provider which revealed that around three quarters (74%) of families feel guilty about the amount of food they waste, with half of Brits (53%) believing that children should be educated on reducing food waste, and a further 42% saying it should be added to the school curriculum.

The CurrEATulum has been created alongside Social Farms & Gardens, a charity helping communities across the UK to farm, garden and grow together. Resembling a school syllabus, the teacher-approved educational tool features a number of activities from quizzes to crafts, all designed to teach kids where their food comes from and encourage them to adopt food waste reduction habits.

Low-waste chef Max La Manna said: “I am absolutely thrilled to join forces with HelloFresh for this campaign that aligns closely with my deep-seated passion. My personal commitment lies in making the most out of every ingredient, be it through creative recipes or mindful practices like repurposing leftovers for composting or crafting. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we collectively reduce our daily food wastage. What truly resonates with me about this campaign, and the larger mission of HelloFresh, is the focus on nurturing and educating the younger generation about the invaluable merits of food waste reduction. Together, we aspire to cultivate a new generation of food waste champions!”

Speaking on the partnership, Claire O’Neill at Social Farms and Gardens said: “Following the success of our partnership with HelloFresh last year, we’re excited to be extending the initiative further, creating a toolkit which will be rolled out across our member gardens. We can’t wait for our member gardens to put the CurrEATulum into action with simple activities that the kids will love. Not only will they be learning about the importance of food waste from a young age, but they’ll also be spending time outdoors and seeing the benefits of growing your own produce at home, no matter how big or small!”

Adam Park, UK CEO at HelloFresh said: “Our goal at HelloFresh is to eliminate surplus food from our entire supply chain, that starts with our suppliers and ends in our customers’ kitchens at home. It’s a big mission but one we’re passionate about. Wasted food is not only wasted time, effort and expense, it’s a wasted meal at a time when budgets are tight. This is in addition to GHGs released as methane when food ends up in landfill – it ultimately costs us all.

“We’re already making great progress at HelloFresh, our business model means we source our ingredients directly from the producers and deliver to our customers without any costly detours that increase wastage, storage and packaging costs. I’m thrilled to be sharing some of our learnings with the next generation through our new partnership with Max, and our continuing commitment to Social Farms and Gardens with HelloFresh Gardens.’