5 Ways to Reduce Food Waste

I didn’t know this until recently.

27 April 2022 marks Stop Food Waste Day in Australia.

The amount of food waste is mind-blowing when looking at some of the statistics presented by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre:

• We produce enough food to feed a population 3 times larger than the 25 million people in our country
• 6 million tonnes of food is wasted yearly
• 5 million tonnes of food is wasted from our homes each year

There are efforts being made to reduce food waste from food production all the way down the chain to individuals as consumers at home. Recommendations on how to reduce food waste on the home front can summarised by…

 “buying the right amount of food, storing it appropriately, and using it in time.”

Here’s a brief expansion on some of those concepts (with some references at the end for further reading):

1. Plan for meals

Planning for meals can help with grocery shopping and buying only what you need. This may also help with managing the food bill as it provides a potential to minimise impulse food purchases.

2. Make use of leftovers

If you don’t mind a bit of repetition, many leftovers can be consumed the next day, provided appropriate storage, eg. refrigeration, and then re-heating. Not all foods need reheating either. Cold pizza, anyone? Or pulled pork in your next sandwich or salad?

Some meals are suitable for freezing for another time. Freezing leftovers, or soon-to-perish fruit and vegetables may also provide some easy-access ingredients for your next baking or cooking session.

Re-purpose your leftovers. Be creative about how you might use leftover meals in a following meal or snack. Patrik Jaros & Gunter Beer state in their book, “Waste Not Want Not” explain leftovers…

“…make a wonderful starting point for completely original new meals or old, almost forgotten dishes.” pg 13

There are ‘incredible…combinations’ of ingredients waiting to be discovered.

3. Share with others

Consider what food you haven’t used that you may be able to donate or gift to family, friends, neighbours or a community group. Social media can provide some searchable options for local community pantries and charities that may take food donations. I am part of a ‘Buy Nothing’ group on Facebook where individuals frequently post extra meals or food items for gifting.

4. Consider food storage

Storing food in ideal conditions limits food spoiling quickly. Check the temperature settings of your fridge and freezer. Consider what foods are best stored in the dark, such as potatoes, and which items may fare better in food wraps or containers rather than in their original food packaging, especially once opened. Also audit the food stock in your fridge, freezer and pantry regularly, using older food items first.  

Food Standards Australia & New Zealand provides information on its website about labelling and storage, in particular foods that need specific conditions such as refrigeration. It also outlines the definitions for ‘best before’ and ‘used by’ dates on food packaging, which may help to understand what food is safe for consumption and when.

“Used by” means the food must be eaten before the stamped date for health and safety reasons.

“Best before” means the food is usually still safe for consumption after the stamped date, however the quality of the food product cannot be guaranteed.

5. Make compost

Using food scraps for compost can help gardening in many ways, including:

• Improving soil quality by making it nutrient-rich
• Helping soil to keep in moisture and 
  absorbing run-off
• Reducing risk of pests and disease in plants

If you would like to join the online discussion on using leftovers, pop over to my Facebook Page.