Belfast to ‘eat for survival’ in The Hungry Games

The Hungry Games will challenge visitors to reduce their food waste and improve their knowledge of nutrition in activities developed in partnership by the Royal Society of Biology, the Biochemical Society and the Nutrition Society, in Belfast on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th February.
As part of the Northern Ireland Science Festival, scientists will explain how changing our food habits could have a positive effect on the environment as well as our health, and cook up a selection of tasty nutritious and sustainable dishes at a free drop-in event in the UK’s busiest food market, St George’s Market in Belfast.
Dr Penny Fletcher MRSB, events and public engagement manager at the Royal Society of Biology, said: “Food security for our growing global population is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. However, in the UK we still throw away a fifth of the food we buy and don’t always think about getting the best nutrition from our diets. We need to shop, cook and eat smarter. We hope to help visitors improve not just the health of their families and their bank balance, but ultimately the health of our planet!”

Participants in The Hungry Games will learn about the various nutrients found in the foods they eat and how production of these foods affects the environment. Visitors can play exciting card games to weigh up these considerations, take part in quizzes to test their knowledge, and make their own model plates of food to take home. Visitors will be able to find out about the work of the Centre of Excellence of Public Health NI and quiz researchers on their latest findings on healthy eating.
“This is an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn how to make healthier food choices and find out about our latest research aiming to improve diet in Northern Ireland”, said Professor Jayne Woodside, deputy director of the Centre of Excellence for Public Health Northern Ireland and Chair of the Irish Section of the Nutrition Society.
Love Food Hate Waste and Home Economist, Susan Anderson, will be cooking up some tasty treats using one of our favourite household leftovers, potatoes, twice a day (12 and 2pm) and will be on hand to provide easy ideas, hints and tips for making the most of your leftovers.

2016 is the Northern Ireland Year of Food and February’s theme is ‘Love Local’. The Hungry Games cooking demonstrations and fun drop-in activities will promote sustainable and local produce as part of this celebration.

Most of the 7.0 million tonnes* of food and drink UK households throw away each year is avoidable (4.2 million tonnes), and could have been eaten if it had been managed better. This is worth £12.5 billion and would fill 8,400 Olympic swimming pools. Preventing this food waste could save the average family £700 a year and deliver significant environmental benefits in terms of landfill avoidance and mitigating climate change.

Hannah Russell, head of education and training at the Biochemical Society said: “Food security means all people at all times having access to safe, affordable and nutritious food in large enough quantities to meet their needs. As well as access and availability, understanding how our bodies use nutrients is an important part of food security and an ongoing challenge for families striving to give their children a balanced diet. Through The Hungry Games we hope to encourage young people and families to think about the effect of food security on themselves and society.”

Potatoes are one of the most common wasted foods in the UK and are a source of healthy carbohydrate. 730,000 tonnes of potato go uneaten every year, of which 320,000 tonnes were avoidable. 160,000 tonnes of potatoes are thrown away whole and untouched (50%) due to ‘not being used in time’. Other commonly wasted types of food are bread slices (350,400 tonnes a year), apples (110,000 tonnes), milk (290,000 tonnes) and meat and fish (570,000 tonnes).

Last year, as part of Northern Ireland Science Festival 2015, the Royal Society of Biology brought eating insects as part of the ‘Menu of the Future’ to Belfast. We hope to recreate the buzz this year!

Chris McCreery, NI Science Festival director said: “We are extremely excited about this year’s festival programme, at the heart of which is The Hungry Games. This two-day showcase brings fun and food science together through lots of interactive demonstrations and tasting sessions. I’m sure this will be a big hit with market-goers!”

The 11-day NI Science Festival extravaganza, began on 18^th February and comprises over 120 entertaining and informative events across venues such as the W5, Titanic Belfast, the Armagh Planetarium, the Black Box, the Nerve Centre and the Ulster Museum.

The ‘Hungry Games’ event will take place from 10:00 – 15:00 on Saturday 27th and 10:00 – 16:00 on Sunday 28th February at St George’s Market, 12-20 East Bridge Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 3NQ. Live cooking demonstrations with samples will take place at 12:00 and 14:00 on both days. This is a free drop-in event and no registration is required. More information about The Hungry Games: www.rsb.org.uk/hungrygames