MID Devon District Council has teamed up with local authorities throughout the south west to create a month-long campaign designed to help people think differently about food and, hopefully, to win some outstanding prizes.

The new campaign, launched on October 12, is a first for the south west. Thirty-five local authorities across the region are pooling expertise and resources to get the "love food hate waste" message out to residents.

Families in the south west throw out on average up to £50 worth of good food every month. That's around £600 a year which could be put to better use or food that could have been eaten.

With some clever shopping and creative cooking it's easy to reduce the amount of food ending up in the bin and save money, too.

By visiting the website lovefoodhatewaste.com/southwest or by calling into Council offices at Market Street Crediton to make a pledge to reduce their food waste, Mid Devon residents could win some very special mouth-watering prizes and find out about local events.

The prizes include a gourmet weekend for four at The Elmfield in St Ives or The Pedn-Olva Hotel in Ilfracombe, with food from two of the region's top chefs; dinner for two in the Summer Lodge Hotel, Dorset's Restaurant of the Year 2009; or a bespoke cookery lesson for two at La Cuizine Cookery School in Bristol.

Portfolio Holder for Street Scene, Councillor Ray Radford said "Hopefully by supporting this campaign and by giving people ideas of how they can convert leftover food into tasty meal options we can help reduce unnecessary waste. Saving money and helping the environment makes "eating well and wasting less" an ideal solution for us all."

Reducing food waste could cut carbon dioxide emissions by 18 million tonnes per year, the same as taking one in five cars off the road.

The campaign website is full of tips and advice on portion size, food storage and use-by dates. It also contains delicious recipes – just click on the food you need to use up to be inspired.

For more information or to make a pledge check out the website lovefoodhatewaste.com/southwest .