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Resolutions: Garbage with Guilt – Getting a Grip on Wasting Food
By Aly Wagonseller
It’s dinner time and the hunt for suitable ingredients worthy of turning out a healthy meal has begun. You’ve been to the grocery store, perhaps even several times this week, but despite numerous half opened bags of salad mix, your refrigerator yields not one morsel of lettuce, tomato or cucumber fit for human consumption. A trip to the pantry isn’t much better–a disappointing co-mingling of nearly empty pasta packages, potatoes with rapidly growing eyes, and a half eaten Pop Tart that someone felt compelled to repackage in Saran Wrap. Surely the extra freezer in the garage would comply, with its gargantuan, haphazardly torn open box of taquitos and enough freezer burned ground turkey to feed an army.
Sound remotely familiar? You’re certainly not alone. We are a nation of food wasters, with inclinations to both buy and cook more than we need, improperly store what we do have and impulse buy to our heart’s content. It’s a habit with great cost to us, to those who live in poverty and to our environment.
What’s the Big Deal?
Americans spend more than $475 billion annually at the grocery store, yet according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up to one-fifth of that food, nearly $95 billion, is routinely tossed in the trash. That’s an awful lot of dough to fritter away on food that never made it past your taste buds, but it’s not just about you. The reality is that according to the latest USDA Household Food Security Report performed in 2009, more than 250,000 Southern Nevadans struggle with hunger. National figures hover around 50 million people, largely children, that don’t get enough to eat, despite the fact that Americans throw away more than 33 million tons of edible food annually. That’s enough viable food to not only feed those in need on a local and national level, but the entire globe.
All this rotting food in the landfill has consequences on the environment as well. According to a 2009 study done by the Environmental Protection Agency, unlike other garbage that is successfully being reduced by recycling efforts, food waste has doubled in the past 30 years, making up more than 20% of total trash sent to the landfill. Indirectly, the fossil fuels used to package and transport food, as well as more than 11 trillion gallons of water to grow and process it, are thrown away right along with it. Add to this the methane gas and C02 emissions from decomposing food, mainly meat and dairy products, and you’ve got yourself a major contributor to climate change. Americans spend billions of tax dollars in an effort to find ways to conserve resources and improve upon the environment, yet food waste is a major offender that’s only getting worse.
What’s a Foodie to Do?
Of course we don’t waste food on purpose; after all, “cleaning our plates” was emphatically encouraged in the majority of Boomer and Gen Xer households. But busy lifestyles, a lack of planning and “deals” that are just too good to pass up wreck havoc on reducing the food waste chain. A few changes can make a big difference.
Get Real
How much you really need to buy and eat is a question that, when honestly answered, can lead to real progress. Start by opening your eyes to everything you waste and when it’s being wasted. Are you constantly throwing away spoiled fruit, vegetables and dairy products? If so, it’s time to say no to two for one bargains and bagfuls of produce, opting for only the amount you can consume before your next shopping trip. Alternately, if you are routinely scraping extra rice, noodles and protein off plates into the disposal, progressively prepare one less serving than you’d normally make until you find a balance between satisfied diners and little to no food waste.
Don’t forget restaurant and fast food visits either. Most portion sizes are far too large for one person to eat on their own, and really can be shared. Unless you are absolutely certain that what’s in your doggie bag will enthusiastically be consumed as leftovers two days from now, consider ordering a smaller version or splitting the order with another family member.
Get Organized
Taking time out of a busy schedule is difficult, but getting organized in terms of both purchasing and storing your food will prevent waste and save you money. Start by cleaning out your refrigerator, pantry and freezer section, grouping food items in a logical manner so that they’re easily visible. Consider purchasing various sizes of see-through containers for organizing everything from refrigerated leftovers to dry goods like pasta. They’re particularly useful for snack items like potato chips or crackers that otherwise get tossed due to mangled packaging that can’t be resealed. Invest in cabinet organizers and pull out shelves to provide easy access to food in deep pantries. Once you’re working with a clean slate, institute a few rules to keep things in check.
- Plan meals weekly and around staples you know you have on hand. Do not rely on memory! Take a short inventory prior to shopping to prevent buying something you already have.
- Be honest. If you know a busy schedule will necessitate picking up fast food two days a week, only plan and buy enough for five days of cooking.
- Only purchase bulk items that you know your family can eat before the flavor is diminished. If you must purchase meat in bulk, make sure it can be eaten within a month or two, and that it is properly wrapped for freezing.
- Routinely rotate older food to the front of refrigerators, freezers or pantries. Keep tabs on quantities and expiration dates so that these foods can be utilized in recipes in a timely fashion.
- Be aware of, but not overly zealous about expiration dates. A “best if used by” date does not necessarily mean a product is destined for the trash bin. Use common sense, sight and smell to determine freshness.
Stick to your guns; only purchase what you really eat, buy far less of it, know where to find it and use it before it becomes stale.
Get Techie
Did you know that if you store your cottage cheese upside down it will stay fresher longer? Or that if you need only a few drops of lemon juice, piercing the fruit with a skewer rather than cutting it in half will keep the lemon from drying out? Easy, yet impactful ideas like these can be found by doing a Google search on reducing food waste. The websites www.wastedfood.com, produced by Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland, and www.supercook.com are great for finding information on anything from how to keep your food fresh to recipe ideas with what you have in your pantry. Give it a click to find ways that work for your family and lifestyle.
We’ve made huge strides in recycling our cans, glass and paper products. Still, we continue to litter landfills with groceries that not only create environmental stress but could be utilized for those in need. It’s not a simple fix, nor can one person do it all, but with some effort, we can all give food conservation a try.
Buying Less Really Can Help
So how does purchasing only what you really use in terms of perishable food items help those struggling with hunger? After all, you can’t just donate that half empty carton of milk to the food bank, right?
Actually, in a round-about way, you can. Three Square of Southern Nevada, an organization that collects food for nonprofit and faith-based charities that serve the hungry, has rescued more than eight million pounds of food and groceries that otherwise would have gone to waste. Via their Food Rescue Program, Three Square picks up daily donations of fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products that are close to code but still edible from collaborating stores including Albertsons, Smith’s and Fresh & Easy. They then provide the food to their partners for distribution to those in need. Think about it when you’re tossing that second bag of rotting spinach you acquired on a two for one sale into the trash can. If you can’t eat it before it spoils, someone else who is hungry can. Visit www.threesquare.org for more information.
