Tips to reduce food waste

For many people, food is probably their 2nd or 3rd biggest expense each month. It is something you need multiple times a day, and much of it doesn’t last very long. All of this contributes to the huge problem of food waste in the US. Here are some tips to reduce food waste to help the environment and save you money!

Why does food waste affect me?

There are two direct effects on individuals. First is the financial cost of paying for food only not to consume it and throw it in the trash. Second, is the environmental cost of growing, producing, and transporting the food, only to have it not consumed.  

According to the USDA, approximately one pound of food per person is wasted every day. This totals 103 million tons of food waste per year or the equivalent of 30-40% of the food supply. This works out to a cost of $1,500 per year for a family of four. 

This is a big problem. Farmers and food manufacturers put energy, water, costs, and greenhouse gas into growing and making food. The food is then transported many different ways to the store and ultimately the end consumer. All to end up in the landfill breaking down and contributing to our global warming problem. 

Individual consumers are not the bulk of this problem, but can still play a part in the solution. The largest groups involved with food waste are grocery stores and restaurants. Some have programs in place to send unsellable food to local food banks or other rescue organizations. This is a great dual benefit because it keeps food out of the landfill and also provides meals to people who need them.  

What can I do?

You can encourage your local stores and restaurants to have a plan for their food waste to go to use rather than in the trash. Connect them with local food banks or rescue shelters to see how they can partner for mutual benefit. 

Watch the amount of your own personal food waste at home. Using these tips below, you can become more aware of your food consumption habits and how you may be prone to food waste. 

Tips to reduce food waste in your household

• Know what you have. Frequently, look through your fridge and see what you have to use. Before you go to the store, check to make sure you don’t already have anything on your list. 

• Don’t overbuy. Have a rough meal plan when you go to the store. If you buy something, have an idea when and how you are going to use it up, rather than a general “I will get to it” attitude. Make this a priority if you are cooking for one person! 
• Google it! Use Google for tips on how to store or preserve something if you are unsure. Most foods can be preserved in some way, dried, cooked, frozen, etc. If you are not going to use something up before it goes bad, look online to see if there is a way to store it long-term. 
• Be willing to mix up meals. A great lunch can be part of dinners from the last two nights. A few leftover veggies and some leftover meat together on a salad is a common leftover-friendly lunch I make. 
• Add one fresh cooked item to a few leftovers. Having part of the meal fresh cooked can give life to your leftovers. Think about making a bowl with a freshly fried egg, leftover veggies, rice, and meat. Or an egg scramble with leftover veggies and sausage.  It’s ok to recook or heat up leftovers into a completely new meal. 
• Properly store your food. Produce can be tricky, but having it stored correctly can give you several more days of life to get it used up. Again, Google can be your friend here. I use these types of reusable silicone covers on any bowl or directly on the end of cut produce like onions or watermelon.
  
• Schedule leftover-friendly meals. Certain meals lend themselves to using up leftovers like soup, wraps, bowls, and egg scrambles. These are meals with flexible ingredients and proportions which is great for using up little bits of leftovers. Meal planning can help!
• Use your eyes!  Store leftovers in containers you can see into, like clear glass or plastic. Leave items that need to be used upfront and center in your fridge so they are the first thing you see. Nothing gets lost faster than a container shoved to the back corner of the bottom shelf! These storage containers have worked great for me! 
• Prioritize. Focus more on using up the higher-priced and higher environmental impact items like meat and produce rather than lower-priced items like rice or potatoes. If you can’t use everything up and have frozen or saved everything you can, I prioritize the following order:
  • Meat
  • Fruit
  • Veggies  
  • Carb side dishes
  • Snack food
  • Processed food
• Be flexible in food groups. If you always have broccoli as a side dish with your pasta, but your green beans are close to going bad, then serve beans tonight and save the broccoli for later in the week. Or skip the carb and have two veggies with dinner!
• Know yourself! Know which foods you like as leftovers and what ones you don’t. I love broccoli as a side dish, but am not a fan of steamed broccoli reheated. So, when I steam broccoli, I only make enough for one serving. On the other hand, my favorite salad topping is grilled lemon zucchini, so I make a ton of that to have leftover on salads for the week whenever I have it as a side dish.

• Compost! See if you have composting available to you through your yard waste, or start a small compost bin yourself. Even if you live in an apartment, there are small outdoor compost bins that would work on your balcony.
• Don’t quit! If you mess up and some of your food goes in the trash, it is ok!  Learn from it and move forward with your efforts. We don’t need to be perfect in our efforts! Each food item consumed makes an impact!

Alright! Now you are an expert on how to reduce food waste! What things do you do to reduce food waste? I would love to hear them by sharing them in the comments below or over on our Instagram page!