The Welsh city where families are ‘losing significant cash in the bin due to food waste’

Cardiff has ranked among a list of UK cities where families 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, and those in Cardiff wasting £285, 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.”

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