That seems like a silly question, but according to The New York Times that’s exactly what we do every year. Globally we throw away 1/3 of all the food we grow. As a country, we literally throw away $160 BILLION dollars every year. That’s around $2,000 per household each year or $167 per month. Ouch.
Globally, some countries have better excuses than we do. Inadequate refrigeration and transportation damage a huge amount before it even gets to the consumers overseas, but what they get home is eaten. In richer nations we comparatively get more of our food into our houses….and then let it sit there until it’s inedible.
Ok, we’re sufficiently shamed. So what can we do about it?
#1 Be Aware. We’re busy and details get overlooked. Meat and dairy (the #1 food category thrown away) gets pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten. Produce turns to green goo in the crisper because it’s out of sight. We serve our kids huge portions and they only eat a few bites. The pantry looks like a 3D puzzle and we honestly don’t know what’s in there. Doesn’t matter how it happens, it adds up.
#2 Make Some Priorities. That food represents $, which represents TIME. Time we spent away from our families, friends and things we’d rather be doing to earn it. If $2,000/year isn’t a big deal to you then maybe reducing food waste isn’t a top priority for your house. If it IS a big deal then you’ll want to put a little extra effort into food management.
#3 Make A Plan. Check and see what you already have at home. What’s hiding in the deep freeze or the top shelf of the pantry? Go ahead and toss what’s already bad so you know what you have to work with. If you have quite a bit, get a little creative with meal planning (it’s OK if a few meals are a bit wonky) and just use what you have for the next week. Once you’ve used up some of the extra, make a meal plan. If you’re a planning queen go for the whole month. If you hate planning, aim just for the next 3 days. It doesn’t really matter, it just gives you an idea of what you actually need to buy so you don’t end up with WAY too much perishable food. Need help planning? Let’s talk…this is part of what I do. 🙂
#4 Work The Plan. Sounds easy, right? But it can be the hardest part because real life is messy. The key here is to be flexible. If you plan to use the chicken and broccoli tonight but that doesn’t work out, that’s OK. Use it tomorrow. You can check your plan and decide what food needs to be used first and rearrange accordingly. No sweat.
#5 Celebrate! With a little work to set priorities, make a plan and use it, you just saved your family money. What could you do as a family with $167/month? Hmmm….time to dream!
