Food Steps: Reduce Food Waste

Courtesy of www.EarthHero.org

Ease: Easy
Impact Rating (1-5): 2
Influence Beyond You: 3
Types of Impacts: Save Water, Money saver, Save Energy, Biodiversity, Time Saver

Does it help with making your community resilient to disasters and emergencies? No

Tags: Waste, Dinners, Guests

Money Saved (1-4 $): $$$

Source(s): www.projectdrawdown.org/Being the Change by P. Kalmus
Description: Reduce your personal food waste to save precious resources and money. Food that ends up getting thrown away means wasted water, land, and energy used in production and transportation. If we minimize food waste as a society, we would take the equivalent of half a billion cars off the road. Be a part of that movement!

How-to Tips:

• Shop wisely by planning meals, using lists, purchasing accurate quantities, and reducing impulse buys. This includes holiday meals.

• Prepare appropriate amounts of food and get good containers to make it easy to save leftovers and keep them fresh.

• Eating leftovers save you time from preparing something new.

• Make it easier to find leftovers in your refrigerator and freezer by keeping them in the front. Having less food in your fridge helps ensure items do not get lost in the back.

• Do not be fooled by date labels. Date labels on food are generally not regulated and are not meant to indicate food safety. The food is likely fine after the date label unless the words “use by” appear before the date. Use your nose and judgment.

• Share dishes at restaurants or take home the extras. Have containers on hand for giving dinner guests leftovers. Often times when eating out, portions are much larger than a typical meal.

• Share extra food with family, friends, and neighbors.

Image credit: Photo by Megan Thomas on Unsplash

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