14. Buh-bye food waste

I will adopt at least two strategies to reduce food waste:

• buy only what I know I can eat in time

• store food properly to reduce spoilage 

• use food creatively to avoid waste 

• share bulk foods with neighbors and/or friends 

• donate unused food (including from my fruit trees and garden) 

• compost 

• buy ugly or imperfect food

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? 

The average American household wastes almost one-third of the food we buy, or about 250 pounds a year.  

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wasted food “is the largest stream of materials in American trash.” Over 42 million tons of wasted food ends up in landfills or combustion facilities a year, generating methane emissions (a powerful greenhouse gas) and other pollutants. The energy and other resources used to grow, transport, manufacture, store, sell and dispose of all of this wasted food also has a significant carbon and pollution footprint. 

Wasted food constitutes approximately 11% of the greenhouse gas emissions from the food system, and in the US is equivalent to the emissions from 37 million cars. 

We need to waste less food.

TAKE ACTION!

Try some of these actions to reduce food waste:

• Purchase Strategies: Buy only what you know you can eat in time. Before shopping, double check what you already have, and when you are shopping keep asking yourself the question “can I eat all of this before it spoils?” Look at expiration dates on foods. This is what they mean.

• Storage strategies: a) To prevent mold, wait to wash berries until you are ready to eat them; b) for all other produce, when you first get your fruits and vegetables home, remove any spoiled spots, then wash and dry; c) because they emit gases that cause other fruits to ripen faster, store apples, bananas and tomatoes by themselves; d) if you have more meat, bread, or other foods than you can eat in time, freeze them; e) another possibility is to cook and then freeze certain foods to be consumed later.

• Use food creatively to avoid waste: Instead of throwing food away, ask yourself, is there something else I can do? Here are a few possibilities: a) If vegetables are past their prime for eating raw, use them in soups, sauces, casseroles or stir fries; b) if fruits are past their prime, use them in smoothies, bake them or cut them into pieces and freeze them; c) if bread is a little stale, consider croutons.

• Share foods with neighbors and / or friends. Sometimes food comes in large quantities. Sharing the cost and amount of bulk purchases with friends and/or neighbors is economic and fun.

• Donate unused food. Donate shelf stable food to food banks such as the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and Associated Students Food Bank. Also, if you have overloaded fruit trees or gardens, Food from the Heart has volunteers that will pick them to feed the hungry. Finally, for food scraps, also consider donating them to local animal organizations such as the Santa Barbara Zoo (produce) and BUNS. For a comprehensive list for both North and South County, click here. Also, there is a new app called Olio, designed to facilitate giving away free food items to neighbors.

• Compost: Among other benefits, composted organics improve soil health and structure, return nutrients to the soil, and improve soil water retention. To read EPA’s excellent “Composting at Home” guidelines and recommendations, click here. Alternatively, you can create an indoor worm composting bin. Also, the County of Santa Barbara offers a discounted composting bin program; and has a terrific composting booklet.

• Buy ugly / imperfect food: There is a growing market for ugly/imperfect food. Consider being part of it. Click here to read about some options (including Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods).

• Take the EPA “Get Smart: Keep Good Food from Going to Waste” Challenge.

ADDITIONAL MOTIVATIONAL THOUGHTS

Reducing food waste saves money. A four-person household can save up to $2,000 by wasting less food.

In the US, municipal landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions, contributing meaningfully to climate change.

As the EPA notes, “wholesome, nutritious food should feed people, not landfills.” Over 37 million Americans are living in food insecure households.