Save Money by Cutting Down on Food Waste
“Don’t waste money, don’t waste time, don’t waste food, don’t waste energy.” — Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Yesterday on NPR, Ted Robbins interviewed Timothy Jones, an athropologist that suggests ways to stop wasting food. He says, “If you’re feeling guilty about all the food you ate on Thanksgiving, don’t dwell on it. Instead, Jones would like you to think of all the food you wasted!”
You can listen to the Morning Edition segment or I found a print version with some interesting stats at FoodNavigator.com. They report, “As the US celebrated Thanksgiving, a new study revealed that almost half the food in the country goes to waste.”
“On average, households waste 14 percent of their food purchases. Fifteen percent of that includes products still within their expiration date but never opened. Jones estimates an average family of four currently tosses out $590 per year, just in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products.”
“Jones says that consumers better need to understand that many kinds of food can be refrigerated or frozen and eaten later. Nationwide, he says, household food waste alone adds up to $43 billion, making it a serious economic problem.”
“Cutting food waste would also go a long way toward reducing serious environmental problems. Jones estimates that reducing food waste by half could reduce adverse environmental impacts by 25 percent through reduced landfill use, soil depletion and applications of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.”
In another interview, Jones says, “The best ways to cut the losses is for families to honestly examine what they actually eat, draw up menus and freeze leftovers so they don’t spoil before you can eat them.
In the NPR interview, Jones said that the real culprit is fruit and vegetables. Another article describes it as: “health-conscious purchases of quick-to-spoil fruits and vegetables.” Typically, people buy these on the weekends (trying to be healthy eaters), but as the week continues on, they end up eating other things and by Friday, poof, the fruit and vegetables have spoiled.
Here’s a food site packed with useful tips about how to use and prepare produce. You’ll save a little money and do your part in helping to sustain our planet.
I doubt my family would be in the demographic of food wasters. With 5 of us living off my take home income of $28,000- there is little room for waste.
Every 3rd day, we do some sort of leftover meal. It might be quesdillas made up of leftovers, soup, or just a little bit of this and that- with kids bidding for what they want to eat for the meal. But it gets GONE. Of course, we sometimes VERY RARELY have a meal where kids don’t like wat is made and I end up being the only one eating something for a few days *ahem* straight until its gone.
How do others avoid wasting food?
Great article, I for one am completely guilty of wasting a lot of food. When I go shopping I always seem to buy much more food then I need. Anyone got tips on how to not waste food and save some money?