Avoid overcooking this week to help with the fight against wasted food.
Posted by Lisa Hendey
in Homemaking
on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 8:00 AM
Recently, in my hometown paper, food columnist Joan Obra wrote a fascinating column entitled “Rotten food in refrigerator adds up to too much waste”.
Sadly, Joan’s article is not online, but it left such an impact upon me that I wanted to share a few of her most important points with you here and get your ideas on the topic as well. Joan recommended that in advance of going out shopping for the big Thanksgiving meal, we should all clean out our refrigerators and pantries. Her point was that in addition to making room for a huge turkey and all the fixings, we should take note of the huge amount of food wasted by families in the United States each day.
Fruit that spoils, items that exceed their expiration dates, or even just those items we purchase in bulk and never quite get around to using all constitute some of the literally billions of pounds of food that is wasted in the United States each year. I know I’m guilty on this count - I rarely clean out my fridge prior to shopping and have sadly tossed my fair share of rotten produce.
I wanted to share two of the resources from Joan Obra’s article with you:
* WastedFood.com - Jonathan Bloom’s blog offering news and suggestions to avoid food waste
* The Frugal Girl - Tips for cutting back on food waste
Since reading this article, I’ve been much more cognizant about the food we purchase and how we can cut back on waste, but I would still love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this topic. With a huge Thanksgiving feast ahead of us, leftovers will abound. How do you make the most of those extra pounds of turkey or mashed potatoes? What proactive steps can we take to cut back on food waste in our homes?
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Filed under finances, food, nutrition
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Comments
1. Posted by Maureen Griffin on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 8:47 AM (EST):
Every month or so we do what my husband calls the purging of the dregs—we use up what’s in the pantry and fridge, in some very stange combinations which we call dumps (just dump it all in one pot and cook), before we grocery shop again. ANother way we avoid waste is my husband’s willingness to take just about anything to work for lunch. Any leftovers that have sat in the fridge for more than a couple of days goes into his lunchbox for work...again some very strange combinations. If he wasn’t so willing to do this we’d probably have alot of waste as I’m kinda picky and “reject” foods much sooner than he.
2. Posted by Kristen @TheFrugalGirl
[website] on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 11:06 AM (EST):
Oh wow! I had no idea someone had written about me in a newspaper. I’m bummed the article isn’t online.
I’m glad to have more people spreading word about reducing food waste, though!
3. Posted by Kim F. on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 1:55 PM (EST):
Thank you for this information. It is truly amazing to me how much food I end up throwing out every week. And my husband takes leftovers for lunch every day! I actually started to go through the fridge yesterday to make room for new groceries and ended up cleaning it out entirely. Even wiping down the shelves on the door where all the condiments leave crusty rings. When I went grocery shopping last night I vowed to only purchase those things that I know we can eat up or freeze before they go bad. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe I’ll start keeping a cost total for all the waste and take that out of any spending money for the week. I might be more motivated to use everything up if I can’t buy myself that occasional cup of coffee.
4. Posted by Kim F. on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 2:57 PM (EST):
Another thing I forgot to mention is that we compost all the produce in our house that goes bad. So while we should be eating it, I don’t feel as bad because it doesn’t end up in a landfill. And we haven’t had to pay for organic material for our garden beds in years.
5. Posted by Lori Chaplin on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 4:09 PM (EST):
A great timely topic! I was raised (on a farm) not to waste, so I really hate it when it happens. I now live in town, so I usually try to either save my edible garbage (in a container in the fridge) to give to my parents chickens. The hens just love garbage, and we love their eggs. I also have a compost tumbler. I found the website you listed quite interesting.
6. Posted by Kimberlee
[website] on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2008 10:04 PM (EST):
My family will enjoy eating up all of the Thanksgiving leftovers until they are all gone. Many of the dishes are holiday specialties that we don’t usually have, so everyone is eager to eat them up. In general, whenever leftovers start to accumulate in the fridge I just declare a leftover night and don’t cook anything new. We empty out the fridge and everyone microwaves whatever they want. If your family is reluctant to have ‘leftover night’ perhaps that can be the night you make a special dessert (like tonight we had leftovers but now we’re making hot fudge sauce for our ice cream). Works for us!
7. Posted by joan mikluscak on Friday, Nov 28, 2008 6:35 AM (EST):
GREEN BAGS: They are a good thing because I have significantly reduced all my wasted fruits and vegetables BEFORE I get a chance to prepare them. I don’t know about anyone else but my fruit and vegies are not the same as years gone by and deteriorate practically before i get out the grocery store door. You can purchase them just about anywhere now and they really work. The other important step we have taken is to buy fresh foods locally and frequently in smaller quantities. This way we see and promote community. Thanks for a great web site.
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