How to Reduce Your Food Waste
By Malia Noll
Whether you’re a frequent grocery shopper or a once-a-week-and-done type, you’ve likely had situations where food ended up in the trash—we’ve all been there! Since this issue is common to us all, we decided to create a resource to help individuals divert and cut down on food waste, because every person’s efforts collectively make a difference!
FOOD WASTE IN THE US
The surplus of food in a first-world society aids overconsumption and ultimately, waste. The US produced over 41 million tons of food waste in 2017, with less than 7% of that tonnage being diverted to efficient uses, like composting, animal feed, or biofuel and bio-products for industrial use (1). Additionally, food waste is the most common item found in landfills, and accounts for over 22% of total municipal waste (1)
HOW INDIVIDUALS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Aside from the root of the issue—a surplus of food that makes it easier than ever to over purchase—our best efforts can be directed towards cutting back on the amount of waste our own household produces.
According to the FDA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy (1), a chart that helps individuals and organizations identify ways to prevent and divert food waste, individuals can make the most difference diverting food waste by
Donating excess food to local organizations like food banks and shelters, or
Composting food waste, either in their own home or with a local composting service.
“Organic waste in landfills generates, methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting wasted food and other organics, methane emissions are significantly reduced."
— EPA
Additionally, being mindful of purchasing habits while utilizing efficient meals for older foods can effectively reroute our own waste habits. All it takes is a bit of planning, trial and error, but in time you’ll be able to make a significant shift.
Ready to cut back on your own food waste and start making a difference? Check out our tips below!
Discover Composting
Next time you’re reaching to toss those food scraps in the trash (which is likely every single day), consider implementing a composting bin into your home. Don’t worry, these days composting doesn’t mean smelly, hard-to-manage eyesores in the kitchen. It’s easier than ever when you have a sleek, compost bin to hold food scraps, especially one that can be thrown in the dishwasher between uses for easy cleanup!
Our Pick for Composting:
Sustainable Practices:
Made from sustainably sourced bamboo
Diverts food scraps from landfills
Utilize Mature Produce in New Ways
Browning bananas? Bruised apples or soft zucchini? No problem! Simply chop up produce that’s overripe and use in a smoothie that day, or store them pre-cut in the freezer for future use. Many people are hesitant to use “ugly” produce, or produce that’s not as firm or vibrant as it was in the grocery store, but it’s no less usable or nutritious. We just need to get creative and find suitable uses for these less attractive items.
Our Pick for Mature Produce Storage:
Sustainable Practices:
Made from the highest quality platinum silicone, which does not degrade over time
Free of BPA, BPS, lead, latex, and phthalates
Stasher has passed all U.S. and Canadian food safety standards in addition to the most strict guidelines of all, the European Union food safety standard.
Store Food Wisely
Proper storage can go a long way in extending the life of foods in your home. Nuts, legumes and crackers are best stored in air-tight containers to keep them from going stale and soft. For fridge storage, we recommend air-tight, clear glass or silicone storage to keep things like half-cut fruits or veggies fresh. If you purchase herbs like cilantro or parsley by the bunch, place the base of the stems in a small glass of water and store upright instead of smashing them into a produce drawer where they can become musty and mushy.
Another wise tip from the refrigerator pros: move older produce to the front of the fridge whenever you’re adding new items from your latest grocery haul. This will help you remember what needs to be consumed first so you’re less likely to find spoiled produce in the back of a drawer weeks later.
Our Picks for Food Storage:
Sustainable Practices:
Made of Recycled Bamboo Fiber + Beechwood
100% biodegradable materials
Meal Prep for Less Waste
Image Source: @preptoyourdoor
Meal prepping each week is a great way to cut down on overbuying and underusing food. Focus your weekly meals around complimentary ingredients to make shopping easier and increase the likelihood of using all of the items you purchase. For example, if you’re cooking Italian food one week, many of your dishes will likely incorporate tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Another week, choose Mexican-style ingredients for your meals and stock up on avocados, cilantro and chiles. Batching food items by cooking style helps us use all of the items we purchase, especially when cooking for one or two.
If meal prepping and cooking aren’t your forte, consider a meal delivery service to take out the guesswork, like Prep To Your Door Zero Waste.
“We deliver organic, plant-based, ready to eat meals in a completely zero waste closed loop model.” —CEO of Prep To Your Door, Faiez Rana
This innovative meal delivery service allows you to customize how many meals you need per week in zero-waste packaging so you can have organic, fresh food at the ready all week long!
Our Pick for Meal Delivery:
Prep to Your Door, Starting at $64.95 (Currently, available in Austin and Houston only)
Sustainable Practices:
Packaging and shipping materials are reusable. Each time a new order is delivered, the company collects the insulated bags, mason jars and lids from the previous order.
All meals are plant-based, organic, local, preservative & gluten-free.
Prep To Your Door currently services Austin and Houston, Texas, and are expanding to San Antonio and Dallas over the next year. Over the next 2 years they plan to expand to the West Coast, starting with Washington and Oregon, followed by California so keep your eyes peeled on when Prep To Your Door is available to you!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Malia Noll is a former public accountant turned self-employed copywriter who works with small businesses to build genuine connections to customers through strategic writing. Malia is based in Columbus, Ohio and specializes in promotional writing, email marketing and editing.
