As the school year is started to wind down, I started to look more closely at our family's pantry and fridge/freezer. I noticed we have candy still from Halloween and frozen pizza from the winter time.
I started to research food waste and was stunned. Americans waste about 1 pound of food everyday. In 2018, Americans wasted nearly $160 Billion!! (with a B!) which is about 30-40% of the entire US food supply.
Also, 'food waste is the single largest component going into municipal landfills, which can quickly generate methane gas.' (USDA-2015).
How can you help?
1) Shop smart and realistically - even if there is a bargain on soups, sauces, etc. think realistically if you need all that food.
2) Save - and actually eat! - leftovers. Leftovers only stay fresh for 3-5 days after cooking...use one meal a week as a 'leftover' night :)
3) Avoid clutter in the fridge and the pantry - make sure applesauce doesn't get shoved to the back to sit there for 3 years.
4) Weekly meal planning - look through your cabinets to check out what ingredients you already have and use helpful apps to put creative meal choices together.
5) Check out: www.savethefood.com it is a helpful website that give tips and suggestions to help consumers make a change for the better!
