Food Waste Prevention

Food Waste Prevention

In the United States, approximately one-third of all food goes to waste, Every year, Americans lose more than $218 billion on wasted food.

According to the EPA, preventing food from going to waste is one of the easiest and most powerful actions you can take to save money and lower your carbon footprint. It is important to begin by adding small, powerful actions to your daily routine, establishing these actions as habits, and sharing out tips and resources with friends and family.

Establish an "Eat This First" Section in Your Refrigerator to Use Up What You Have

 By organizing items in your fridge to emphasize what needs to be eaten soon, you can easily create and plan meals around what you already have and save money by not letting anything go to waste!

Here's how:

• Delegate a section of your refrigerator to items that need to be eaten first, label it, and educate members of your household on its purpose.
• On a weekly basis, dedicate time to clean out, organize, and take inventory of your fridge.
• Cook a "use-it-up" meal before grocery shopping with the items in the "eat this first" section.

Other impactful ways to reduce food waste:

• Plan menus for the week and make a shopping list.
• Purchase "ugly" fruits and vegetables that often get left behind at the grocery store.
• Learn about food product dating – Many consumers misunderstand the purpose and meaning of the date labels that often appear on packaged foods. Confusion over date. labeling accounts for an estimated 20 percent of consumer food waste.
• Freeze ripe fruits and vegetables for baking, cooking, and filling in gaps for recipes.
• Share leftovers with friends, family, and neighbors.
• If you have more food on hand than you can use or you need, consider Food Finders- Food Donation/Rescue (http://www.foodfinders.org/)    

For more resources and information visit Food Waste Prevention Week.