Reducing Food Waste
 |
Did you know that upwards of 40% of all household food is tossed in the trash uneaten? According to a recent City of Toronto Waste Audit, the average single family household in that city tosses out approximately 120kg or 264 lbs. of food waste per year. Think of how much money shoppers are throwing away with all that food! It’s not just families throwing away good food. In North America, 30% of fruits and vegetables don’t even make it to store shelves because they aren’t pretty enough. Perfectly edible, but oddly shaped fruits and veggies get plowed back into the ground or thrown into grocery store dumpsters, by the millions, every single day.
The cost of all this waste is staggering. On top of the financial cost of growing and then tossing food, there is the environmental cost: food rotting in landfills is one of the main sources of methane gas in Canada. There are also the millions of tonnes of fertilizer and pesticides used in food production. Food waste accounts for 70% of total fresh water consumption (approx 40 million liters) and 300 million barrels of oil per year, all to produce food that gets thrown into landfills, uneaten.
Reducing food waste is good for the planet and the pocketbook! Here are some easy tips for reducing the amount of food (and money) you are tossing in the trash.
No. 1. Make a meal plan. Shopping without one is a sure way to buy too much food. And not just a grocery list, but an actual meal plan with two or three days of breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Figure out what you already have and what you will need to buy in order to follow that plan.
No. 2. Be careful at the store! Marketing is a billion dollar a year industry. The stores know the best way to separate you from your money. Stick to your list. Ignore sales that would entice you to buy extra food you don’t need. You’re not saving any money if you end up throwing the food in the trash.
No. 3. When you get home, store food properly. The bag it came in is not the best way to store salad. Put it in your salad spinner and put that in the fridge. It will last much longer and cost you nothing. There are also plenty of re-usable storage containers available in stores if you want to spend the money. Some are definitely worth the investment.
No. 4. Only cook what your family can eat. It may take a while to figure out exactly how much that is, but once you figure it out, you’ll find yourself with a lot less extra food to deal with.
No. 5. Improvise! Now, sometimes leftovers are inevitable and not just at the holidays. So what can you do with them? Leftover night! Make one night a week leftover night. It’s just like going to a buffet restaurant, but free! Make stock. That limp celery and hairy carrot are just stock waiting to happen. Freeze leftovers, especially things like casseroles and lasagna. Then on busy nights, just take it from the freezer to the oven and voila! Dinner! Feed the dog If you’ve got one of these leftover eating machines, take advantage and save some money on dog food.
 |