Did you know that households throw away $640 worth of food each year? April is Financial Literacy Month & April 16th is Earth Day- what better way to celebrate both than looking into our food waste! In the U.S., over 37 million tons of food are wasted each year. That’s a lot of food that ends up in landfills instead of on plates.
Most people probably don’t realize how much food they are actually wasting. The sliced bread that got moldy before you finished it; the leftover meatloaf that you meant to bring for lunch, but didn’t; the forgotten cucumbers that are hiding in the back of the produce drawer.
Some simple ideas that can make a big impact include:
- Make a plan before you go grocery shopping. Have a list with the food items and the amount you need for the meals you plan to make.
- Check your pantry before going shopping so you don’t buy ingredients that you already have.
- Properly store your produce. (See the next article for a helpful resource that might help answer questions about how to properly store produce).
- Prep foods after you purchase them, so you can use them for snacking and cooking throughout the week. For example, remove the rind from large fruits such as pineapple and melons, cut them into chunks and place in air tight storage containers in the fridge so it is ready and easily eaten.
For a complete list of tips and other resources about reducing food waste, check out the EPA’s website.
Article from the More in My Basket team.
