This year, stop wasting food (and money)
Who hasn’t felt the shame of a refrigerator purge? You’re sentenced to face the forgotten leftovers, fuzzy produce and years-old salad dressing that you swear must have come with the fridge. But it didn’t. You paid money for all these things, and now you have to throw them away.
Take heart. You’re far from the only person to waste food and money. And unlike more ambitious money fixes, reducing food waste is relatively simple and sure to pay off. In fact, a person could save about $370 annually on average by wasting less food, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. And a family of four could pocket an extra $1,500 or so on average in the new year.
As if saving money doesn’t feel good enough, reducing food waste also helps the planet. Most food we pitch winds up in landfills, which emit harmful methane gas. Less waste, less gas.
Reducing wasted food also conserves energy and resources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
So make this the year you don’t have to come eye-to-potato-eye with another decaying legume. Here’s how to waste less food:
Start with a fridge cleanout
Get a “reality check” on what’s going to waste in your fridge, says Cassie Bartholomew, program manager at StopWaste, a public agency reducing waste in Alameda County, California. Remove and evaluate all items that are spoiled or inedible. Rather than feel bad about the waste, try to learn from it. “Ask yourself, ‘Why am I tossing this food?’” she says. “Look at those root causes.”
Did you buy an ingredient you never used? More planning before shopping could help. Did you forget about leftovers or produce that’s gone bad? StopWaste’s 10-Minute Fridge Reality Check recommends designating part of the fridge to food that’s quick to spoil. Label that section with an “Eat
This First” sign.
During your cleanout, you may realize some foods on death row still have some life in them. Foods past their “sell-by” or “use-by” dates may still be safe, and wilted produce could still be cooked. (More on that later.)
While you’re in the fridge, Bartholomew recommends checking its temperature. A temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below will keep foods safe, according to the Food and Drug Administration, which recommends using a freestanding appliance thermometer. (You can find these in many stores and