Wasted Food & Relationships

“Food, Wonderful Food! Glorious Food!”

Young Oliver Twist sang these lyrics. Where does all this glorious and wonderful food come from and why is so much being wasted? I recently sat down with a newly married Princess and gave her the following news: Up to 40% of food purchased from the village, Super Market or Store is wasted in the United States. That is 35 million tons of food worth approximately $165 billion dollars! An average family of four currently tosses out an estimated $2,200 worth of wasted food per year! It is ethically negligent, and causes massive economical losses as well as severe damage to the earth. Why is so much going to waste? Here are a few reasons, and preventative measures we can use:

Preventing Food Waste

 

Princess, buy only what you need, and resist impulse buying. Sticking to a list is essential and a list derived from a menu plan is crucial if we want to stop wasting food. When we impulse buy, we don’t plan on how we are going to use that extra food, and it often gets forgotten and tossed out. We can also prepare the vegetables we are going to use for the week. Veggies can be pre-chopped, and that makes them easily accessible for use, or munching on. We are more likely to use what is readily available later. Why? Because we live in a day of quick and easy consumption.

Stick to a Menu

Sticking to a menu or food plan keeps us on track, and can use our creativity to use an item for multiple uses. For instance, how many meals will I use chopped bell peppers for this week? How else can I use them up? Can I freeze the extras? There are many resources for menus for every possible family dynamic. Check out Pinterest, or a Family Food Blog for one that works for you.

 

Unless you have a large royal family, avoid buying in bulk. We tend to over buy when we do. If you have a smaller family and want to take advantage of the savings, then set up a schedule with another family to split that flat of fruit or 20 pounds of potatoes. Otherwise, your kids will get tired of eating the same thing, and fruit or other foods will go to waste. Another way to avoid over purchasing is to buy from local Farmer’s Markets. The food is fresh, and we tend to purchase only what we need when we shop this way. Plus we are supporting local farmers and growers when we shop locally.

Label What You Buy

 

Another way to reduce food waste, is to label our own food with “dates to use it by”. Use a Sharpie and mark it when you get it home. There is an app called The Best Before App, which helps to determine dates, and avoid confusing labels. What happens when we aren’t sure if something is good or not? We toss it out.

This is also the perfect time to label and freeze any extra meat that won’t be used up in the next few days. Investing in a vacuum sealer will help to prevent food waste. No one wants to eat meat with ice all over it, which we know will taste like the freezer itself. Properly storing our extra meats will ensure a properly frozen and stored product.  Are you freezing your meat with the most effective method? There are Fridge and Freezer Guides available to teach us how to use proper placement in our appliances for storing food.

What Belongs Where?

 

What belongs in a fridge door? It’s the warmest place in the fridge. What about crisper drawers? Low humidity is for fruits like apples, avocados, melons and mangoes to stay fresh longer. However, high humidity will ensure that our green veggies, herbs, peppers, strawberries and broccoli stay fresh longer. Did you know that cucumbers, tomatoes and squash are best stored at room temperature? We can also add an ethylene gas absorbent to our refrigerators to keep fruits and veggies fresh longer. Being informed and educated in this way also can help with reducing our food waste.

Why is it Important?

 

It isn’t just that we shouldn’t be wasting food. Along with that we are wasting money. Tossing out food that wasn’t used is essentially tossing out money, and no one wants to toss out their money. The objective that ties this up is that when we waste money, we can also be straining our relationship with the family member who has worked hard for that money. The provider who wants the best for their family sacrifices to bring home the paycheck. When family members seem callous about wasting food, it can be hurtful to that person. The provider may become angry or even resentful towards certain family members, especially those who are seen as the biggest “wasters” or offenders.

Wrapping things Up

So Princess, keeping a budget, labeling foods, sticking to a menu and only buying what we need can help us not only with our finances, but with our relationships. Give it a try, and let me know how things have changed for the better for you!

 

~Cynthia

 

 

 

RESOURCES

Diversity, C. F. (n.d.). Beat Food Waste. Retrieved January 28, 2019, from   https://www.takeextinctionoffyourplate.com/BeatFoodWaste/

Jacobson, K. (2016, August 19). The Environmental Impact of Food Waste. Retrieved from https://www.moveforhunger.org/the-environmental-impact-of-food-waste/

10 Shocking Food Waste Statistics. (2017, April 20). Retrieved from http://www.theswagusa.com/2017/04/20/10-shocking-food-waste-statistics/

Best Before – App on Google Play. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nicedistractions.bestbefore&hl…