Each year an enormous amount of food is wasted in the United States. Most people don’t realize how much food they throw away every day, from uneaten leftovers to spoiled produce. Planning, prepping, and storing food can help your household waste less food. Below are some ways to help you cut back on what you toss out:
1. Ask for a smaller portion
Whether you’re eating at a restaurant or cooking for your family, it is easy to serve people more food than they can finish. At restaurants, try sharing a main course if you’re worried it will be too much food. Request a “to go” box to take leftovers home instead of leaving food on your plate. At home, start with a smaller portion and return for seconds so that you don’t end up scraping good food into the garbage can.
2. Buy less
Start a list of what fridge items you frequently throw away and buy them in smaller quantities. Before shopping, refer to your notes and plan accordingly for the upcoming week. Only buy as much as you need and can use before the food goes bad.
3. Properly store food
Perishable items each have their best way to store to avoid fast spoilage. Do some research to find out how to properly store your produce, so it doesn’t go to waste in your fridge. Fresh fruits and veggies top the list of food we toss most often. Store apples, bananas, and tomatoes by themselves, and store fruits and vegetables in different bins. Wait to wash berries until you want to eat them to prevent mold.
4. Post list of perishables on the fridge
Eat foods based on how quickly they spoil. Enjoy berries and leafy greens before hardier items such as apples, oranges, carrots, potatoes, and winter squash until the end of the week. Cook raw meat and fish within three days, or place it in the freezer.
5. Use up food
Use up foods that are slightly past their prime. Don’t be so quick to toss them! Slightly soft or wilted produce make flavorful additions to smoothies, baked goods, soup, stirfries, stews, and casseroles, while also helping to reduce food waste.
6. Date and eat leftovers
Do you ever lose track of leftovers in your fridge? Label and date each container. All foods that require time and temperature control should be labeled with the name of the food, date the food was made, and a use-by date. The food can be kept for seven days if it is stored at 41°F or lower. If the food is not used within seven days, it must be discarded. Day 1 is the day the product was made. If a product was made on April 15, the use-by date would be April 21. Repurpose leftovers in another dish or eat again. Build an “eat leftovers” day into your week to ensure that you eat your cooked foods.
7. Preserve by freezing food
Freezing is a great way to store most foods to keep them from going bad until you are ready to eat them. You can also put veggies that are starting to wilt, or odds and ends, into a container in the freezer to use in soups and stews, or freeze fruit for smoothies or desserts.
8. Practice “first in, first out” method
Mover older food items to the front and tuck the new ones in the back of the cupboard or fridge. Organizing your food can help people keep track of what you have at home and help to identify foods that are ready to eat. Learn to adjust recipes to use up what’s in your fridge. Many fruits and vegetables can be exchanged in recipes.
9. Be food date savvy
There are no federally regulated descriptions used on food labels for open dating in the United States. A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date. A “Best if Used By/Before” date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is for quality, not a safety date. A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except on infant formula. Examine foods for signs of spoilage. If the products have changed noticeably in color, consistency or texture, avoid eating them. Remember, “when in doubt, throw it out!”.
10. Share with others
If you find yourself with too much food on your hands and your family doesn’t like eating leftovers, share it with family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers! Invite them over for dinner or surprise them with a meal. Pack extra food in containers for guests to take home.
Together, we can all make more effort to reduce food waste. Throwing out food is a waste of money, as well as a waste of your time spent grocery shopping.
Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Nutrition and Food Safety Educator
Sources:
- Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Food & Drug Administration