6 Ways to Fight Food Waste

Did you know that the United States discards 80 billion pounds of food each year? The United States is the global leader in food waste, with the food discarded each year amounting to more than 161 billion dollars. Food that is discarded takes up approximately 22% of solid waste in landfills, making it one of the largest components in landfills. While food waste is a significant issue in the United States, there are small ways that we, as individuals, can make changes to reduce our food waste at home. The following list will go over ways you can reduce your food waste and make a difference in the amount of food waste generated each year.

1. Plan Ahead — Take Inventory

Before buying groceries, take inventory of what you already have and what you need to buy. If you are planning on making a meal or simply restocking on groceries, take a few minutes before you go to check your fridge, freezer, and pantry and make a list of what you need based on what you already have. By taking inventory, you are able to keep track of what you really need to buy instead of buying items you already have that will eventually go to waste.

2. Prepare Your Food

Once you have completed your grocery shopping, it’s a good idea to prepare your food ahead of time, specifically preparing your fruits and vegetables. You can do this by chopping them up and storing them for later. When you prepare your fruits and vegetables ahead of time, you will be much more likely to consume them and ultimately prevent them from going to waste.

3. Ignore Those Dates

Those “sell by,” “best by,” and “use by” expiration dates aren’t always accurate and, depending on the product, it may be best to avoid following those dates strictly or to the day. It is impossible for manufacturers to know the exact date that food will go bad. Depending on many factors, such as the humidity in your home, exposure to sunlight, temperature, etc., your food products and produce could go bad before or after the date. It is best to use your own judgment to decide whether a particular food item is still good. Typically, most foods will still be edible a few days or even weeks after their “expiration date.” Due to many varying factors, companies and manufacturers will often provide an expiration date on perishable goods that significantly underestimates the product’s actual shelf life. More resources on this topic can be found in this report.

4. Bad Doesn’t Always Mean Rotten

Sometimes foods like fruits and vegetables might have one bad spot, such as bruising. One bad spot doesn’t always mean the produce has gone bad or that it should be thrown away. It is best to salvage what is left by cutting off the bad part of the fruit or vegetable. As always, it is important to use your own judgment to decide if it is worth salvaging and consuming your fruits and vegetables.

5. Regrow Your Scraps

Did you know that you can regrow fruits, vegetables, and herbs from your scraps? Using your scraps to regrow fruits, vegetables, and herbs is a great way to not only reduce food waste but also save money on groceries. To start regrowing your scraps, you typically only need water and leftover scraps or seeds. For example, if you want to regrow green onions, simply place the ends of your onions in a cup of water and change the water every day. The ends will start to regrow and sprout roots after which you can transfer them into a pot with soil to continue growing. For more information on regrowing fruits, vegetables, and herbs from scraps, check out this article.

6. Compost

Much of the food waste that is thrown out goes to the landfill, but it doesn’t have to. Composting food is a better alternative to landfill disposal and reduces the amount of greenhouse gases, like methane, that is released into the atmosphere. If your city provides a composting service, take advantage of it and compost your food waste. If not, you can still compost by creating your own compost bin. Check out this article on how to make your own compost bin.

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