How to reduce your food waste

Reducing our food waste is just one step towards a better future.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” -Gandhi

Specifically, in developed countries like the United States food waste is a bigger problem than most people realize. According to the US Department of Agriculture, 80 billion pounds of food is wasted in the U.S which is equivalent to $161 billion dollars. Not only is this a waste of money but when food breaks down in landfills it produces methane gas which is a similar greenhouse gas to carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, this contributes to climate change. So what can you do to help?

Ways to Reduce Wasted Food

Meal Plans

Planning out your meals for the week or even for the month can be really useful in ensuring that you buy only the food that you. This will help you to save money and reduce the amount of food that you end up throwing away. When you plan your meals before you go shopping be sure to stick to this list as it will help you from buying extraneous items that might get wasted. Before you go leave to go shopping, check your refrigerator and cabinets to make sure you buy what you need and base your meal plans off of that. Quantify how many meals you plan on making with the item. For example, "6 piece chicken package - 3 lunches". Don't worry if you don't get it right away, with practice you will get better. Making meal plans part of your living habits will help you and the environment in the long wrong.

Store Food Properly

Many times we purchase fresh fruits and vegetables with good intentions but the end up getting spoiled and we have to throw them away. You want your fruit and vegetables to stay fresh for as long as possible whether they are inside or outside of your refrigerator. There are several different ways to do this:

• Store apples, avocados, stone fruits like peaches and plums, pears, bananas, and tomatoes away from other produce. This is because they produce high levels of ethylene gas that causes other produce to ripen faster.

• Keep onions by themselves especially away from potatoes.

• Most fruits and vegetables will last for 5 days after you cute them if you keep them refrigerated and in an airtight container.

• Try not to slice fruits like apples, avocados, pears, and bananas because they brown really easily. Keep them stored in the crisper part of your fridge to maximize freshness.

• Make sure your produce is thoroughly dry before you store it because the moisture will cause your produce to spoil faster.

Prepping Food

When you get home from the grocery store you should take the time to prep your food for the following week or month. The foods that you know might spoil before you eat them store in the freezer. This will help keep your food fresh and cut down on your cooking time!