Food waste is rampant in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 30% to 40% of all food is wasted in the US and 31% occurs at the consumer or retail level. Furthermore, according to the USDA, this waste amounted to 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010 . What a shame!
Food waste is also responsible for 6% of greenhouse gas emissions globally due to emissions created during the growing, harvesting, transporting, and packaging of the wasted food, and when it is not composted and ends up in a landfill food waste creates methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas.
There are many ways to avoid food waste at the consumer level, which saves money and protects the climate. Doing so could save an average of about $370 per person annually.
Tips to reduce food waste:
Prepare for your shopping trip. Shop with a well-thought-out list to buy only what you will need for the week. Looking up recipes for the week and creating a list helps avoid over-purchasing food. Also, avoid going to the grocery store hungry which can lead to impulse buys.
Storing food properly helps it last longer . Fruits such as apples and bananas, and vegetables such as potatoes and onions, are best stored outside the refrigerator without bags. Other fruits and vegetables stored in the refrigerator are best kept inside clear containers to easily see what you have in the refrigerator.
Eat what you have on hand, and utilize your freezer . When you are getting tired of leftovers, freeze them for future meals that will require very little preparation time. Freezing also works well for leftover herbs. Just chop them all up, use what you need for the recipe, and freeze the rest. Eat the more perishable produce first such as lettuce and berries, and save the more durable vegetables such as carrots and cabbage for later in the week.
Transform your leftovers into something new . Make use of wilted vegetables by making a soup, egg frittata, or fried rice with them. Vegetable trimmings make great soup stock. Add them to a container stored in the freezer as you trim vegetables until you have enough for a soup stock. Overripe fruit can be used in pancakes, smoothies, and sweet breads. Leftover mashed potatoes can easily be made into delicious gnocchi. Leftover chicken or turkey makes excellent sandwiches, casseroles, and enchiladas, and the carcass when simmered with water for a few hours on low makes a delicious stock.
Canning excess food is also an option . Canned food makes great holiday gifts as well. If you are new to canning, you can get started by checking out Canning for Beginners .
Remember your neighbors . If you have grown too much produce, give it to neighbors. When leaving town for a bit, give your neighbors the leftover produce instead of throwing it out. If you have trees with too much fruit for you to use, contact Backyard Growers via email at info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org or leave a voice message at 510-239-PICK (7425) to request volunteers to pick your excess fruit and donate it to the Alameda Food Bank. Through their Project Pick program, Backyard Growers have saved and donated 33 tons of produce that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Consider getting an imperfect box of fruits and vegetables delivered . Imperfect Foods provides this service in the Bay Area. Food that is oddly shaped, too small, or too large for grocery stores is saved via this method. With each box, you can select the specific fruits and vegetables you want.
Lastly, for unusable food scraps, remember to compost them or put them in the green bin to avoid that nasty methane gas production in landfills.
I hope you can use some of these tips to reduce your food waste, save money, and protect the climate.
Joyce Mercado is an author and member of Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA). Her columns are collected at alamedapost.com/Joyce-Mercado . She can be reached at jlmercado246@gmail.com .
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