YOU Can Impact Reducing Food Waste

How can we as individuals preserve food to help eliminate food waste? Unfortunately, in modern society, consumers such as single individuals or businesses find their shelves with an over production of food that leads to unecessary spoilage.

We can preserve food with various preservation methods and tricks to up the consumption that will help extend the period produce is viable. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "94 percent of the food we throw away ends up in landfills or combustion facilities. In 2017, we disposed 38.1 million tons of food waste." By reducing food waste in our community, we can help society in a variety of ways.

1) Saving money for businesses and consumer individuals

By decreasing the amount of food that is being bought to decrease the risk of the food being unused and wasted, consumers will save more money. Moreover, preserving food before it spoils for specific future use can also save money instead of buying new produce.

2) Help support those in need

Reducing food waste can aid in those with food shortage supply. Instead of discarding food that will go untouched until expiration, donating produce to to those in need is a way to strengthen the community and preserve the planet. Donations can be to your local food bank or donating to any close friends or neighbors that you know could benefit from additional support.

A common example of this can be whenever we make a meal at home that has leftovers to it, frequently we might let those leftovers sit in the fridge for days until spoilage. However, an intervention we can make is giving away those leftovers to a close friend or any person in need who would be able to finish (and enjoy of course) the leftovers!

3) Aid in environmental resources

Lastly for ways we can help our community, promoting the reduction of food waste is one solution to a troubling issue our environment faces: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, which compound the toxicity of the Earth’s atmosphere. With approximately twenty percent of greenhouse gas being emitted from agriculture and land, making the subtle changes to prevent our food waste filling landfills WILL make a difference.

With all those factors in my mind, we can help reduce food waste in the following ways:

· Plan and prep pre-grocery shopping more efficiently.

Planning and prepping more efficiently by creating a grocery list based off the meals you plan to make through out the week. Making it a priority to check and use products that you still have in the kitchen so that you do not double up on the same product.

Such as, freezing broccoli that may go spoiled in the next couple of days to use for a stir fry dish for the upcoming week. Therefore, not needing to buy any additional broccoli.

· Being efficient at the grocery store.

Being efficient at the grocery store by only buying what you will need and considering how much of the product is a serving size for a future meal. Buying in bulk can help save money, however being mindful if the bulk purchase will go to an appropriate use before spoilage.

Another example is bringing a copy of the recipes you may plan to make that week either via phone or paper so you can help yourself only buy only what you need!

· Post-grocery shopping preparation.

To avoid waste, post grocery shopping is also a crucial in making food become more useful for a longer period. Chopping fresh fruits and vegetables in advance to aid for easier snacking and meals. Freezing products such as breads, protein sources, veggies, and fruits when you think they will not be eaten in time before spoilage.

For instance, next time you find the fridge containing more veggies than you think you'll eat soon, either placing them in the freezer or put them in meals such as spaghetti sauces. In addition, when your bananas are getting to the point of spoilage, peeling and slicing them to store in the freezer to use in the future for smoothies or yummy nice cream!

References:

1) United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d). Reducing wasted food at home. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home

2) Karen Fifield. (2016, November 16). Science behind food preservation methods. Michigan State University Extension. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/science_behind_food_preservation_methods

3) Alyssa Pike. (2018, April 24). 3 Ways mindfulness can help reduce food waste. International Food Information Food Concil. https://foodinsight.org/preserving-food-safely-is-more-science-than-art/

4) Move For Hunger. (n.d). About food waste. https://moveforhunger.org/food-waste

This blog post is not intended to replace medical advice. Always speak to your health care provider for any advice and questions you may have regarding a medical condition.