In America alone, billions of pounds of food go to waste yearly. Most of this food is still usable and may even be perfectly good. Meanwhile, millions struggle with food insecurity. One of the primary ways to fight hunger is to repurpose this wasted food by getting it to those in need. Or make sure it isn’t in danger of being thrown away in the first place. Here are some of our top tips for preventing food waste.
Keep Track of Your Food
Knowing what you have in your fridge is vital to ensuring you don’t overbuy at the grocery store. Being aware of what you have and how long it will last is an easy way to prevent throwing away unused food. Planning your meals based on how long until things go bad is another easy way to keep yourself organized and your food fresh.
Donate Unused Food
If you know you have more food than you need, whether you bought too much or grew more than you can use, consider donating it before it goes bad. You can use the Food Rescue Locator to find a location near you that will accept your extra food and ensure it gets to those who need it. If there is no location near you, research local services that can reuse your surplus food.
Rethink Your Food Scraps
It is easy to throw food scraps away and not think about them again. However, finding a use for these scraps can help you make the most out of your groceries and help prevent food waste. Stale bread, potato peels, and vegetable scraps can still be used or repurposed. There are plenty of recipes you can find that will give you ideas for ways to incorporate more of your scraps to reduce food waste. Here are a few recipes for food scraps to get you started.
Save Your Leftover Food
Improving your relationship with leftover food is one way to help prevent food waste. Making sure these get eaten rather than thrown away can give you another easy meal you have already prepared and keep perfectly good food out of the trash. Plan for what recipes might have leftovers and consider when you will eat them and how they will be prepared. This will help you be ready when you bite off a little more than you can chew and need to save the rest for later.
Store Your Food with Care
Be aware of the proper way to store your groceries. This will help them to last longer and stay fresher. You may not think you need to work on this. However, you may be surprised about the ideal way to store certain foods. It is worth reviewing your habits to make sure your food is being stored correctly. This article has some tips to get you started on your check.
Many ways to reduce your personal food waste are quick and easy to add to your routine. These tips may even help you save money on groceries and have meals made with fresher ingredients. Preventing food waste is a great way to improve the quality of your meals. Additionally, it can help ensure that food is getting to those who need it.
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The One Initiative unites C.R England and England Logistics in the fight to end childhood hunger. Learn more about work of the One Initiative at oneagainstchildhoodhunger.com.
