Article 9 money saving food tips to help you live sustainably

Having a sustainable approach to food could help you save money, live healthier and help the environment in the long run. It doesn’t have to be complicated – a small change in your routine can be enough to make a difference. From how you shop to what you eat, here are some sustainable, money saving food tips to get you started.

Tips for saving money on food

1. Make food from scratch
2. Batch cook
3. Buy in bulk
4. Buy locally and in season
5. Make your food last longer
6. Embrace frozen foods
7. Plan ahead to reduce food waste
8. Use money saving apps for food
9. Change what you eat 

1. Make food from scratch

Making your own food could be cheaper and healthier than buying a ready meal. By using fresh ingredients and avoiding packaged items like ready meals you can also help to reduce what goes into landfill. You also have the option to choose items that don’t contain ingredients known to have negative environmental impacts. When you’re picking out a new toothpaste, shampoo or a chocolate bar look at the ingredients and watch out for things such as palm oil. Palm oil is present in nearly half of all packaged goods in our supermarkets, but its production often leads to widespread deforestation, causing serious harm to the environment.

2. Batch cook

Batch cooking and then freezing your portions for later can be time and cost-effective. And if you use a microwave to reheat your pre-prepared meal, it could be more energy efficient than using a hob or the oven.  

The average UK household spends around £1,278 on food at restaurants and takeaways each year. ¹ Preparing a portioned meal ready to heat up, you might be less tempted to order a costly takeaway or grab a ready meal product from the supermarket when you’re short of time or are feeling too tired to cook. 

3. Buy in bulk 

Buying things in bulk could save you money as items usually work out cheaper per gram or per litre. At time of writing, a supermarket search online for fusilli pasta shows a 500g bag that costs 75p would be £1.50 per kg, while purchasing a 3kg bag for £3.80 – even though it costs more upfront – is only £1.27 per kg.²

Bulk buying could also help the environment in a small way, as it can mean less packaging waste than smaller individual packages. Zero-waste and packaging-free food shops are available in many cities, giving you an option to bulk-buy goods like pasta, pulses and more – completely package-free.

4. Buy locally and in season

Fresh ingredients are often cheaper when they’re in season. Eating with the seasons means you can buy more local produce, potentially reducing your carbon footprint rather than buying products shipped halfway across the world.

5. Make your food last longer

It’s estimated that around £520 worth of fruit and vegetables is wasted each year.³ And with around 50% of us admitting that this is due to us not storing our food properly, and it going off, learning how to extend the shelf life of your fruit and vegetables is a good way to reduce food waste. The best way to do this would depend on the type of produce. For potatoes, try storing them in the fridge. If you’re buying berries then make sure there’s no mouldy parts that could contaminate the rest. Avoid pre-prepping veg like slicing up peppers or tomatoes as this can make them go off quicker. When your bananas have reached their ripe state, but you still have a few left in the bunch, avoid throwing them away. Pop them in the fridge or in a sealed tub. They might last longer than you think. And with bags of lettuce simply wash them, shake off the excess water and store them in a plastic container or bag with a damp paper towel at the bottom to keep them crisp. 

6. Embrace your freezer

Your freezer can be one of the best tools for cutting food waste and saving money. For example, instead of tossing out your leftover ingredients, freeze them for later. Whether that’s the leftover sauce you made, or the oil and herbs left in the pan. Pop them in a reusable container and you can use them in your meal prep further down the line. You might also be surprised that many of the fruits and vegetables you often throw out can actually be frozen. Things such as avocados, bananas, milk, bread and pizza dough can all be frozen if stored correctly. 

7. Plan ahead to reduce food waste 

Meal planning can be a good way to achieve food waste. By knowing what you’re going to cook ahead of time, you can shop for the right amount of ingredients you need and not lose money by buying unnecessary items or throwing away food you haven’t used. To that end, doing a stock check before you shop could help cut down on unnecessary purchases.

8. Use money saving apps for food

Using apps such as Too Good To Go and OLIO could also help your bank balance while saving food from landfill. Too Good To Go allows retailers such as supermarkets, cafes and restaurants to package up food that would otherwise go to waste and sell it at a discount. In 2024 people opting to use the app meant 365,719 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions were avoided.⁴ OLIO, meanwhile, allows people to share surplus food from their own cupboards to their local community, whether it’s a surplus of vegetables or extra bread. You can use it to request free food from other people or use it to list any food that is nearing its sell by date too. Not only does the app help with food waste reduction, but 84% of users shared that their financial wellbeing had improved.⁵  

9. Change up what you eat 

When cooking at home, meat  can add significant cost to our budget – and to our carbon footprint. At time of writing, inflation has pushed beef prices up by almost 20%.⁶ So, even going meat-free once a week could make a difference to your bank balance.

Meat and dairy production are significantly more destructive to the environment than eating plant-based food items. Producing the same amount of protein from beef generates about 90% more greenhouse gas emissions than producing it from peas.⁷ Swapping your food items around and trying out new recipes could really contribute to being more sustainable for our planet. 

Lifestyle changes can save you money and help the environment

Sometimes a small change in lifestyle choices is all it takes to make significant savings to our finances over time. The changes we make could also have a bigger collective impact on the environment, and so it’s important we all play our part towards shaping a more sustainable future.

Outside of food choices, there’s other steps you could consider to reduce your environmental impact. From recycling more and using your car less – to exploring how your pension and other savings could make a positive environmental influence.

All figures included throughout this article are correct at time of publication.