PREVENTING FOOD WASTE
About 40% of all food waste occurs after we bring food home from the grocery store or farmers market. That’s a big number, but it means that as individuals we have a lot of power to prevent food waste and create a healthier environment! We can all do something to reduce food waste and get involved with this issue.
Reducing food waste at home
- Learn about local, state, and national initiatives or legislation influencing food waste and insecurity. See here for national legislation, or try a Google search for your area.
- Eat seasonally and locally, and encourage your network to do the same. Farmers markets are a great place to shop!
- Talk to your kids, friends, and family about food waste, food insecurity, and food justice.
- If you or your neighbors have fruit trees or gardens, harvest and donate the produce.
- Reduce food waste:
- Create a toolkit or plan for meal planning and shopping.
- Store your produce properly to make it last longer. Utilize your freezer!
- Use recipes that reduce food waste and promote preservation. Scraps can often be used to make broth, soup, sauce, jam, tea, and more.
- Get to know date labels. Did you know you can often eat food after the “best by” date?
- Compost your scraps! Start your own, join a local network, or organize one at work.
Reducing food waste is one of the top strategies to combat climate change according to Project Drawdown, a leading resource for climate solutions.
Reducing food waste in your community
- If you speak a second language, become an interpreter for a local food/gleaning organization. See our list of organizations here.
- Ask your local grocery store(s) what they do with the food they can’t sell. Play matchmaker with a local hunger relief agency. If you have a car, volunteer to transport the food.
- Swap your extra homegrown produce with your neighbors. Check out local Buy Nothing groups, CropSwap, or NextDoor for swaps!
- Join a community garden, and learn to grow your own food.
- Host a discussion or screen a film about food insecurity and food waste. See our list.
- Organize a workplace CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), in which nearby farms agree to deliver produce to a workplace in exchange for a certain number of employees committing to purchase it.
All about food waste
Check out our blog posts to learn more about the issue, plus tips to reduce your food waste!
