A) Shop Wisely
Preventing food
waste actually starts right at the grocery store. By making shopping lists, we can
actually plan out what we need to buy, and that helps us to not get distracted
by the things that we don’t need, like that new flavor of Doritos, and make
impulse buys.
By planning out
what we need, we can also determine how much of it is going to be used at a
time. This means that we are able to make bulk buys, which allows us to not
only save money, but also prevents that need for an emergency trip to the
grocery store because you don’t have enough of a certain ingredient for a
certain dish.
You can also measure
out what to buy in bulk for perishable and nonperishable items. You want to buy
just enough for perishable items, so that the food doesn't end up getting
wasted by just going bad in your fridge-simply because you bought too much. And
you also want to hold back on the nonperishable items as well-you only have so
much space, and you don’t want to buy too much too quickly-just to have the
products overrun your pantry.
Finally, buy “funny
fruit”. These are the little fruits and vegetable that are wasted and thrown
out just because they have a little bit of an irregular shape, even though they
are perfectly fine. By buying these products, you make sure that if no one else
does buy them, at least the grocery stores won’t be throwing them away.
B) Pre-planning Meals.
You can also
plan a “weekly menu”, in which you and your family plan out the meals for the
week. This will help you to make sure that each of these are meals that
everyone will actually eat-and not just push around the plate.
For example, if
no one really likes cauliflower, then make you should put a hold on that caramelized
cauliflower soup you were planning on making. This will result in fewer
leftovers that end up going bad that you have to throw away in the end. You
should also note down when everyone plans to eat out, just so there’s not a
whole extra serving when it comes to cooking.
Pre-planning
meals will also help with the whole ‘Shopping Wisely’ things as well, because you
will have a much more comprehensive shopping list if the entire week is planned
out for you.
Dividing the
food into the correct portions for each meal will also help you in the long run-just
saving you time and wastefulness in the future.
Finally, make
sure that you store all of your food correctly and efficiently. Meats, breads,
and nuts need to be frozen in order not to spoil. Most fruits and vegetable
also keep better if they are stored in the fridge correctly.
C) Eat Leftovers/Compost/Donate
So even after
you have planned and measure out, you still have food left after everybody is
finished eating. Now what do we do?
EAT YOUR
LEFTOVERS. Always freeze your food immediately after you’ve had enough so that
you can eat it at a different time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports
that a typical American throws out 40% of fresh fish, 23% of eggs, and 20% of
milk. But also make sure that you get around to eating it, instead of just
forgetting about it and letting it rot in your fridge for weeks.
Making an effort
to compost is also a great idea. It allows you to reduce your climate impact
and recycle the nutrients of the food. This will also prevent the food from
ending up in a landfills, and we all know that contributing to landfills helps
absolutely no one. Food actually makes up almost 13% of the U.S. waste stream,
as well an even higher percent of landfill caused methane.
Finally, donate
your food. Nonperishable items like canned foods can be donated to several different places, like
local food banks, soup kitchens, pantries, and shelters. There are several
different programs to accommodate what you have to give. Remember that there
are always people more needy than you, and by donating the food you don’t eat,
you are not only reducing wastefulness, but also giving back to the community (as
well as receiving tax benefits).
