Cook More: Reduce Food Waste. Save Money.

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Cook More: Reduce Food Waste. Save Money

What is the single largest stream of waste hauled into our landfills everyday?

Is it paper and cardboard? Plastic? Or glass and metal? 

Rotten and Uneaten Food is Flowing Into and Filling Our Landfills

It’s food.

Are you surprised?

According to the EPA, 21.9% of all waste carried into municipal landfills every year is food. 

By weight, the largest category of food waste is vegetables and dairy, followed by fruit and grain products.

When was the last time you tossed out a container of sour salad greens or rotten vegetables that beckoned to you in the store, but left you less than enthusiastic to cook home?

This waste, about 238 pounds of food per person, costs $1,800 per year for a household of four.

If we examine this waste by food category, fish and seafood is the number one item rumbling into our landfills via the belly of a garbage truck at the rate of 2.3 billion pounds each year.

The calories alone represented by this loss could feed 1.5 million adults each year.

The Daily Challenge: Eating What We’ve Purchased

So why so much food waste?

A hectic lifestyle coupled with a long work day means you may be easily overwhelmed when considering your options for how to answer the most important question you ask every day, “What’s for dinner?”.

More than likely, your end of the day dialogue goes something like this: I’m tired, I’m hungry, I don’t have a lot of time. So tonight, I’ll eat out, take out, or drive through.

The challenge is this: One day of choosing to eat out over cooking turns into another day, and another, and so on. 

And pretty soon, you’re left with the undersirable task of trashing all your uneaten food.  

So are you ready to help the environment and reduce food waste? Save some money? And feed yourself and your family better?

How to Cook More: Reduce Waste. Save Money.

Here are some ideas.

1. Buy smaller packaging. The few cents you save with the economy size is actually lost when you toss out uneaten food.
2. Store your food well. Make as much use as possible of your freezer.
3. Eat your leftovers. Warm them up or better yet, repurpose them into another meal.
4. Learn basic cooking skill. You’ll be prepared, fearless, and confident to use that fresh fish and produce to make a meal that will make your tastebuds dance.