3 Steps to Avoid Food Waste at Home

Food Waste is not Green – Here’s How to Avoid It

Most Western economies offer us an abundance of products which are heavily marketed and advertised.

It’s great to have all these choices!

But it means that we often buy more than we need.

And that leads to food waste. (And food waste is definitely not green and eco friendly).

So here are some quick and easy tips to help reduce food waste – and as a side benefit, you’ll also start using your supermarket to benefit you, instead of it only profiting from you!

Benefits of Reducing Food Waste

• Reducing food waste is green. Resources (e.g. water, soil, fertilizer) are used to produce food – it you buy it then throw it out, you’re also wasting those resources.
• You save money – if you waste food you’re also throwing money away because you paid for the food.
• You’ll save time
• You’ll be more efficient preparing your food
• Your family will learn correct and healthy habits (children learn from what you do, not what you say!).

Why the Supermarket is Your Enemy (But You Still Need It)

Supermarkets use very clever tactics to get you to buy more food.

• Larger shopping carts
• Fresh smells coming from the bakery section
• Free tasting samples
• Special offers for larger purchases (buy one, get one free, coupons, promotions)
• Advertised products placed at eye level, and at the checkout while you are waiting

Why We Waste Food

There are many reasons why we waste food, but most of them come down to a lack of planning.

Few people know exactly how much food their household consumes each week. Without knowing this, it’s easy to buy more than we need (and it’s what the stores encourage us to do).

Without proper meal planning, impulse buys are more common.

Here’s what to do.

Step 1: Gauge Your Monthly Consumption, and Arrange Correctly

What do you always have in your home? Bread, milk, cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables, wine, chocolate, nuts?  For one month, note how much of each item your household uses each week.

Don’t forget store cupboard / pantry items too.

Arrange all food in the refrigerator and pantry with the shortest expiry date at the front.

Step 2: Plan Your Meals

Friday night is Relax night in my home. We settle down with a glass of wine and plan the menu for the following week. We check to see if there are holidays, guests, invitations, birthdays etc. It can also be good to know if it’s a 4- or 5-weekend month.

If we’re going to be late home one evening, we plan an easy, quick meal.

Most weeks we plan a two-meal-meal – a casserole for example. It takes no more effort to cook double the quantity, but a night or two later, it’s wonderfully quick and easy to re-heat and serve.

We check to see if we have food in the pantry or the refrigerator that is approaching its expiry date. If  we do, we come up with a meal that will use that food.

Once the menu is planned, we work out what food we need to buy to make those meals, and add items to the shopping list if required.

With that done, we enjoy the rest of our Relax night!

And the next week, when we get home after work, there are no decisions to make. We just start preparing what’s on the menu. It’s easy.

Step 3: Plan Your Shopping

You can be very organized and keep a spreadsheet, or make some notes in the book you use for your shopping lists (yes, get a book just for your shopping lists and keep it handy in the kitchen).

When you use the last of an item (e.g. a tin of beans), add it immediately to the shopping list.

Shop only once per week. (Each time you enter the supermarket you will be faced with more tempting offers). Save time, hassle, parking – and money – and do your grocery shopping once.

Don’t buy more than you need – and you know exactly how much you need from Steps 1 and 2. The stores are open (very long hours) and they always have plenty of each product. So let the store keep the stocks. Save your space and money.

Make the supermarket your friend instead of your enemy.

If you only use, say, 2 quarts or litres of fresh  milk per week, and the store has a special offer for 4 quarts or litres, then you’ll know immediately that it’s a waste of money for you.

Wise Shopping

Wise shopping is not simply buying cheaply or on sale. It’s buying exactly what we need, when we need it, according to our plan and budget.

Wise shopping eliminates food waste.

Wise shopping is very green and eco friendly.

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