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Dates of a different kind were the order of St Valentines Day at WMO this year! Sell by, use by & best before were all demystified and leftovers were transformed into tasty treats - wrinkly apples into apple cake and elderly veg was roasted with garlic and spices. An enthusiastic round of Play Your Love Food Hate Waste Cards Right', preecded a shared lunch with the West Indian elders lunch club.

Lovely leftovers were also on the menu at St Leonard's, Bootle on 13 February for parents, carers and children. Apple cake, chicken pasta and soup were polished off and enjoyed by all present. Love Food Hate Waste top tips & goodies such as lidded bowls, rice and spaghetti measures were given out. The Energy Saving Trust local advice centre, Energy Projects Plus, donated a goodie box which was won in the free for all raffle by local mum Rachel Lennie.

Get the new year off to a good start and save money, here are some simple tips you can follow to cut your shopping bill;
• Check what you already have in your fridge, freezer and cupboards before you shop so that you avoid buying food and drink you don’t need
• Make a shopping list. Don’t impulse buy – stick to your shopping list!
• Check ‘sell by’ and ‘use by’ dates regularly. Remember that you can freeze food and drink right up to the ‘use by’ date
• When adding items to your fridge, freezer or cupboard, bring the food and drink that is already in to the front, so that food doesn’t get lost at the back and you miss the ‘use by’ date
• Understand portion sizes to save cooking and serving too much. Maybe use your freezer and prepare extra - cook once to eat twice
• Make sure that your fridge and freezer are at the correct temperature settings so that food does not ‘go off’ earlier than it should
• For lots of tips and information on what to do with leftovers, measuring and how much to get portions right check out Love Food Hate Waste

What better way to discuss and share different faith traditions of food, feasts and fasting than while making bread? A Faiths4Change intergenerational event for Inter Faith Week 2011 held in partnership with North West Forum of Faiths, Somewhere Else and the Academy of St Francis of Assisi enabled 15 aspiring and experienced bread makers of different faiths and denominations to come together to make their interpretation of a good loaf! Participants made two loaves - one to take home to share with their family and another which was donated to the Missionaries of Charity Soup Kitchen in Liverpool.

Everyone who came had something to share - "I believe in sharing; sharing brings out positivity, warmth, love and you get to know one another." " Today it was a very good day and I really enjoyed it. We learned how to make bread, all the people were nice and we made bread for people who are homeless. God bless everyone in Liverpool."

Share in the joy of home made bread.

The Asian Elders of Bolton led joint celebrations of Eid, Diwali and Christmas at the 3D Centre in Bolton. It was an intergenerational event with all three faiths working together.

Janet comments - 'It was a fantastic event with several hundred people in attendance. Faiths4Change were representing the Environment Agency and encouraging people to think about flood risk and how individuals and families would cope if flooding were to happen.'

As part of the welcome entertainment, year 6 pupils from Brandwood School spoke about the meaning of the celebrations for each faith group and what it means to them and how they like to receive presents. Here is a poem they wrote for the occasion and shows what interfaith means to them.

Interfaith week is when we all get together,
No matter what religion, we celebrate each other.
Together forever is how we want to live,
Everyone is happy because respect is what we give.
Rarely does anyone feel alone in their culture,
For we all regard each other as sister or brother.
A multi-cultural town is what we want to be,
If we all stand united we’ll go down in history.
The Gita, Qu’ran and Bible is what we pray,
Hoping in peace and justice we can live everyday.

Brandwood School, Bolton

In October 2011 Calvin, Janet and Gustav, our JVC Volunteer, joined forces with Raj, Grace, Susan and Amtul at Asylum Link Merseyside, Liverpool to hold a Give & Share harvest event with a twist or two! From waste paper bead making to herb planting it was an afternoon of treats, tastes and thanks to remember.