According to the non-profit organization, Feeding America, approximately 25 to 40 percent of food grown and transported to the US will never be consumed. That means 20 pounds of food is wasted per person per month, that’s a lot of money and resources going down the drain. Wasted food makes up a large percentage of our landfills, which is a major contributor to methane emissions. The amount of food wasted is even more so ludicrous when compared to the millions of people who are food insecure in the United States. Food is wasted throughout many different steps of the food chain such as processing, distribution, farming, and especially household. You can take part in reducing the amount of food wasted in your household.
-
Cook what is already in your fridge
-
Understand sell-by, use-by, and expiration dates on food
-
Store food in the right places, make use of your freezer!
-
Don’t over-serve food
-
Eat leftovers
-
Try canning and pickling items
-
Implement a compost in your household (my personal favorite)
Food waste can occur anywhere, even our own farmer’s market! Be creative with what you make and the edible scrapes left over. Such as using vegetable scraps to make broths or casseroles. Another personal favorite of mine, is when shopping don’t disregard the fruits and vegetables that look a little “different”, consumers might sometimes be focused on finding the smoothest carrot or perfect potato, but they all taste the same in the inside. They are many more ways to prevent food from reaching our landfills and reduce food waste.