Let's Tackle Food Waste
#NoFoodWasteFebruary, anyone?
We were lounging around the table after dinner the other day when my husband told a joke: “What month do dogs bark the least?” I sat there for several minutes, going through every feasible month-related word play in my head before finally giving up. “February,” he answered. “OH. MY. GOSH. Because it’s the shortest month?! You’ve got to be kidding me.”
There’s something about February being the shortest month that makes everything about winter feel a little bit more bearable— and being the shortest month also makes February a great time to get a handle on food waste (and cut down that grocery bill!). Plus, tackling food waste is one of the absolute easiest things we can do for the environment. In fact, food breaking down in landfills (absent of oxygen) accounts for nearly a quarter of all landfill waste and 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
So pick some easy ways to be part of the solution, not part of the problem— We can even call it #NoFoodWasteFebruary (are people even into hashtags anymore?)!
Inventory your pantry/ refrigerator/ freezer
In case you didn’t already have weekend plans, you do now! Make a list of everything you own, and maybe do a quick tidy while you’re at it. Get rid of the moldy cheese lurking in the back of your refrigerator, and sort all the frozen veggies so they are on the same shelf. If there’s anything you know right now that your family won’t eat, go ahead and donate it to a food pantry (assuming it’s unopened/ not expired) or post it to your local Buy Nothing group (where, in my experience, others are more than happy to take that half box of cereal you’ll never finish).
Make your soon-to-expire foods easily accessible
It’s no secret that you should consume your soon-to-expire foods first. The challenge is actually following through with this. Some people have lots of success with an “Eat Me First” bin in the pantry or refrigerator, or a bin on the counter as a visual reminder.
Got bread that’s going stale (or the ends that, let’s face it, nobody eats)? Toss it in the freezer & save it for bread crumbs! You can also extend the life of dairy products (especially those that are used for cooking, such as ricotta and buttermilk) by freezing. It’s also worth noting that many expiration dates aren’t quite as set in stone as we think. Here’s a fascinating read on when your food will actually go bad.
Create a meal plan to use ‘er up
What can you do make with frozen kale, roasted red peppers, a handful of pistachios, and assorted fish? I have no idea, but apps like SuperCook are more than happy to take your pantry inventory and give you meal suggestions and recipes. This can be great for using up the assorted odds and ends floating around your pantry.
You can also more generally meal plan, and cater your grocery list to accommodate what you actually plan to consume in a given week. While we are pretty good about ‘use it up’ plans, my husband and I have been meaning to more generally meal plan for… oh, I don’t know, 6 years now? And it still hasn’t really happened, but we are definitely making moves in that direction because uhhh I could use the extra sanity of knowing what I’m making for dinner before 4 p.m. If you, like me, struggle with the rigidity of a meal plan, even having a loose framework— Tuesday is pasta night, Friday is pizza— can make sure you don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll have four nights of salads.
If your family (like mine!) is a family of snackers, commit to using up the snacks you have before you purchase more— your grocery bill will thank you!
Make your leftovers obvious
If you needed a gentle nudge to stop using old butter containers for leftovers (is there anything more 90s?), not only does plastic leach yucky chemicals into our food, it also makes it difficult to see the leftovers lurking in the fridge. I’ve been using + loving these Planet Box glass storage containers, but Pyrex is also a great option.
You can also freeze leftover portions for later use— I use Souper Cubes for soups and sauces, and mason jars for smaller tidbits, like gravy.
Tackling food waste with toddlers?
I’m far from an expert on toddler eating, but there are a few rules that have worked well in our house:
If it’s a snack you chose, you have to finish it before you get another snack (ie., if you decide you want a granola bar, you can’t take two bites and decide you actually wanted fruit).
In the 1-3 year old range, we use compartmentalized plates (ours are EZPZ Happy Mats) with a “No Thank You!” spot on the plate. I start off with only a few bites of each food on the plate (I can easily get them more!) to let them try— and anything can go on the “no thank you” spot, but it cannot leave the plate. This is HUGE for us because I’m fairly certain my stubborn children just want to exercise some control, and roughly 75% of the time they end up eating the very food they put in their “no thank you” spot. I decide what goes on the plate, they decide what goes in their mouth.
With my preschooler, she is expected to try one bite of everything on her plate. If she doesn’t want to, there’s no fight— she can leave the table after lunch/ dinner to play, but no snacks until she’s tried one bite of everything from her meal. It helps that one of her favorite books is Just Try One Bite, which totally spins the narrative to have little kids chasing their parents, encouraging them to eat broccoli and peas while admonishing them for “washing [their food] down with industrial waste.” Oof.
Encourage local restaurants and grocery stores to make plans to combat food waste
One of my very favorite local organizations is 412 Food Rescue, a Pittsburgh-based organization that partners food suppliers with organizations and communities in need. Volunteers pick up “food rescue routes,” getting food from one place to another— for example, I used to deliver Pizza Hut’s spare pizzas (which they froze until pick up day) to a nearby senior community center, where they were heated up for Bingo night. Local grocery stores and other chain restaurants like Panera also participate— this kind of advocacy solves very real needs in the local community, while tackling broader environmental problems. Check for local organizations doing similar work in your area, or use these resources to start your own food rescue.
When you’ve exhausted all other options, compost instead of landfill.
Composting doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. A simple tumbling composter in your backyard, or an automated composter like the Lomi can work wonders to reduce your landfill waste.
It’s clear that change has to start in our homes and our local communities. And frankly, tackling food waste is one of the easiest things we can do to make a real difference. So here’s to #NoFoodWasteFebruary. (Still not into the hashtag? That’s okay, me either 😉).