Reduce Your Food Waste
Over the decades, we’ve become more attentive to recycling, but how much do we think about the impacts of food waste? Sure, we may have that parental voice in our head telling us to eat everything on our plate, and we may feel guilty when we forget about a leftover in the fridge. But, guilt isn’t a great motivator (and it feels pretty crummy, too). What if, instead, we simply educated ourselves about food waste and set an intention to be more mindful, day by day, food bit by food bit, about using as much food as we buy?
CHALLENGES
Up to 40 percent of food produced in the United States goes uneaten, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which also estimates that growing, processing, transporting and disposing of uneaten food costs a household of four about 1,800 dollars annually, for a total of 218 billion dollars nationwide.
Food waste also harms the environment. Growing food contributes to greenhouse gases, according to the Food Waste Reduction Alliance. The NRDC estimates that nearly 40 million tons of food ends up in landfills, which makes it the largest municipal solid waste component in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“When it decomposes in landfills, it produces methane, which is 21 times more harmful than carbon dioxide,” says Madison Muxworthy, waste diversion director of the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC) in Steamboat Springs.
In fact, landfills account for one-third of all methane emissions in the U.S.
The United States Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency have set a goal for the U.S. to cut its food waste in half by 2030. Along the Front Range, several community organizations have implemented food share programs, composting and other waste reduction measures, and Western Colorado is doing its part.
LOCAL EFFORTS
In 2017, YVSC recruited 50 participants for its Food Too Good to Waste Challenge. It provided tips to reduce edible waste, like organizing refrigerators and freezers by storing meats, produce, etc. in separate areas, cooking with food scraps (such as adding carrot tops to stew), preparing meals for the coming week, taking regular in-stock food inventories and making a grocery list and sticking to it.
“Of the tips suggested, 95.8 percent of participants planned to continue meal planning, 91.7 percent continued making a shopping list and 100 percent continued eating leftovers,” Muxworthy says. “For 83.3 percent of participants, food waste prevention became a high priority because it saves money.”
Last year, YVSC ran a study in which 69 households collected their discarded food in bins for a week and kept track of reasons why. It found the average household wastes an average of 2.6 pounds of edible food and six pounds of “inedible” food (components typically not eaten by Americans or for which significant skill or effort would be required). Participants threw 66 percent of the waste into the trash, 13 percent down the disposal and 12 percent into home composting; they used 9 percent to feed animals. As Muxworthy points out, all but two percent of participants were already familiar with food waste issues, “so participants were already doing really well compared to a lot of citizens who aren’t doing so well.”
“The most common items thrown in the household buckets were leftovers, bread and produce,” she says.
The two main reasons participants threw food out were due to spoilage or “too little to save.”
SOLUTIONS
Many communities collect unused food from grocery stores, restaurants, schools and ski areas to help feed locals in need.
Food Recovery Network, a national student movement designed to fight food waste and hunger, partners with Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs and University of Denver; together they have saved 34,150 pounds of food since 2015.
The network also partners with Colorado Mesa University and Grand Valley Catholic Outreach in Grand Junction. Catholic Outreach provides 250 to 300 hot meals to people in need six days a week. 40 percent of its food comes from grocery stores and restaurants.
Every October, about 60 local restaurants, as well as grocery stores and local farmers and hunters, donate to Catholic Outreach’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, while local potters and woodworkers fashion the bowls for the 1,000-participant event.
Saving food starts with your mindset.
“Everyone wants to be part of something, and feeding the hungry is something that everyone can relate to,” says Beverly Lampley, director of development and communications for Catholic Outreach. “Stores don’t want to throw away lettuce that they can’t sell — and it’s a write-off. [Donations grow] through word of mouth — just telling the story.”
Individuals also can help by giving to local food banks.
In terms of household food waste reduction, Lampley suggests sharing excess items you bake with neighbors and visiting a local landfill to remind yourself of food waste impacts. Muxworthy also suggests livening up leftovers, freezing food in portions and buying only what you need.
Online, savethefood.com offers even more specific tips and tools, including dinner party food estimations, best storage and freezing practices and ways to revitalize wilted produce or burnt or overcooked food.
“Saving food starts with your mindset,” according to savethefood.com. “This mentality can unleash a burst of creativity you never realized you had — discovering new dishes and cooking techniques, right in your own kitchen.”
Originally published in the Summer 2020 issue of SPOKE+BLOSSOM.