Top 10 Tips to Tackle Food Waste at Home
Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (And What We Can Do About It), suggests many ways to curb this habit on his website, WastedFood.com. Here are some suggestions from him and others:
1.Shop smart. Plan meals for the week with a detailed shopping list, suggests Madeline Basler, a certified dietitian nutritionist in Long Island, New York.
2. Save, transform and eat leftovers. “Eat down the fridge,” counsels Kim O’Donnell, a chef and cookbook author in Portland, Oregon. Turn leftovers into frittata, sandwich fillings, pasta sauces and soups. In this way, we’re not eating quite the same thing again.
4. Store food in safe, sealable glass containers, so it’s easy to see.
5. Avoid clutter in the refrigerator and freezer; if we can’t see it, we won’t eat it.
6. Treat expiration and sell-by dates as just guidelines. There is wiggle room in both, advises Bloom.
7. Donate to food banks and places that provide hot meals for those in need.
8. Preserve the bounty of the garden. Learn how to make quick pickles, pasta sauces and foods to freeze.
9. Join a food exchange. Emily Paster, co-founder of Chicago Food Swap, helps farmers, foragers, home cooks, gardeners, bakers and canners trade or barter their produce and products.
10. Go social. PDX Food Swap, in Portland, Oregon; BK Swappers, in Brooklyn, New York; and ATX Swappers, in Austin, Texas, combine food exchange events with a potluck.