No Impact Week: Tips on How Not to Waste Food (Video)

Jonathan Bloom, journalist, and author of Wasted Food Blog, lists out the practical steps for reducing individual food waste in the home. The ultimate goal is to insure that the least amount of food gets thrown in the trash, and deposited in land fills. Do you have additional methods for reducing food waste that work for you? Any stories about food that you have seen wasted? For those who may be interested, the fruit gleaning project mentioned in the show can be seen in its entirety here: Urban Fruit Gleaning.

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Comments

[tompoe]

In Iowa and Minnesota area, small chest freezers run about $160. It's a major appliance, price wise. It allows the owner of one of these freezers to purchase bulk meat, or take advantage of loss leaders, big time. My purchase literally changed my lifestyle. I can make spaghetti sauce for a year, bag it, freeze it. I bake my own bread, freeze it, and literally eliminated my need to buy bread at the store. Leftovers can be frozen and reheated at my convenience. No more needing to eat the same thing day after day. Well, you get the idea. Small chest freezers are a must these days.

[Rebecca Gerendasy - Huffpost Blogger]

All good ideas - thanks for sharing them!
Having grown up in the Midwest (Iowa), those small freezers are a familiar memory. Whenever we make bread at home, it's just 2-3 loaves. Considering the work involved, I think doubling or tripling the amount makes sense...ju­st freeze and use for later.

[Jpwill]

These are great ideas. More people should be made aware of how much food gets dumped. I was amazed when I found that out some of the stats. In the UK, for example, 1.6 billion untouched apples are dumped every year. That's 27 per person! What really inspired me was learning about Freegans and the way they live. I'm not ready for that, but it certainly made me look long and hard at some of my own habits.

http://greenexplorer.ovi.com/getinspired/europe/united-kingdom/food-for-thought/

[Rebecca Gerendasy - Huffpost Blogger]

Bloom said there are various reports, but the amount of food waste in this country works out to around 40%. That is an amazing amount - and hard to fathom. But, as you mentioned with the Freegans, many of those will find edible food in dumpsters behind grocery stores. I don't endorse what they do, but neither do I condemn them. I know of a local filmmaker who did a short video on Freegans, spent an evening following them around town, then back to their flat to divvy up what was edible. I was amazed to see how much was salvageable.

[simplycath]

I'm inspired by hearing all these sensible ideas!
I've got one to add: Raise a laying hen or two. Most cities allow it as long as you don't have a rooster and chickens eat ANYTHING! We live right in town and raise a micro-flock. They supply us with delicious eggs and we never, ever through food away. Even crumbs from cleaning out the toaster go into the bowl we keep on the counter and feed to them daily.

[Rebecca Gerendasy - Huffpost Blogger]

Great idea, simplycath! Many people may not even realize that chickens are omnivores like us, and, as you mentioned, make great garbage disposals. Never would have thot to feed them the toaster crumbs - but I can imagine they gobble them right up. Thanks for sharing!

[CR46]

Anything that can be throw out for the birds(stale bread etc.) is mixed with birdseed at our feeders. Once a week I always take bits and pieces, especially veggies out of the frig and put on the pot of homemade soup, it's surprising how tasty and hearty different combinations can be( need to boost it a little? add beans or rice) Very little waste gets thrown out of our frig...it may seem like a little thing but if no refrigerator waste is thrown out of millions of frigs it may make a difference. Some veggies too wilted to go into soup are given to our adopted goats too..they deserve it, they "mow" the lawn.

[Rebecca Gerendasy - Huffpost Blogger]

CR46 - wish I had a goat or 2! Another possible idea for old bread (just learned this a few days ago myself) is to make croutons out of it: cut it up into small pieces, toss with olive oil, add your own favorite mix of herbs, spread out on sheet pan and toast in oven on low heat until crunchy.
Great point on fridge waste - if we all step up and work ideas like this into our everyday lives, over a short time positive results might be seen. Thanks for sharing your ideas for homemade soup, too!