Food wastage/loss happens during various stages of the food supply. Though we may or may not be able to stop food wastage or loss completely, we definitely can play our part and preventing food wastage at the household and individual level.
As per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, One-third of the food produced for consumption is lost or wasted globally which is around 1.3 million tons of food. It also states that HUNGER is one of the biggest challenges in development.
We often tend to stock up on a lot of food in the house. Regular Inventory ensures that we know which foods are getting spoilt or are nearing expiry. Thereby preventing unnecessary food wastage.
Conduct a thorough inventory before you go shopping, that way you won’t end up buying extra. If possible maintain a written record of the inventory.
Prior meal planning helps to understand what needs to be purchased and what can be avoided. Thereby preventing unnecessary wastage of both money and other resources.
Create a shopping list and stick to it. Don’t fall for the buy one get one or free gimmicks. ( Click here to get your shopping list. )
The local farmer’s market provides you with fresh and seasonal produce as required. There is a double benefit in doing so, you promote local farmers and feed yourself and your family healthy & seasonal foods.
Once you understand food labels, choosing food for consumption and stocking becomes easy. The key is to read the ingredients and the other details like manufacturing dates, expiry dates, allergens etc.
Whatever you buy, make sure you read the food label and understand how that particular food is stored and store it accordingly. Proper storing improves shelf life and prevents wastage due to spoilage.
FIFO is first in-first out. You first use what you bought first. A simple trick is to arrange food as per it expiry or spoilage rate, that way you know what is to be used first and use it accordingly. Thus preventing food wastage.
Certain foods can easily be frozen. When you know you have excess food, you can easily freeze the food that doesn’t get spoilt when frozen. Eg. Peas, ginger, etc.
While using veggies we often have peels, stalks, leaves, etc. Some of these are super nutritious and can be used in several dishes or can be used in making stock. The rest can be used to make compost and used as manure for your kitchen plants. That is how one can use all the food waste constructively.
Keep a check on what you throw. Sometimes certain foods are wasted regularly eg. Chapatis or bread etc. Once you realize it, you can easily cut down wastage by reducing production or purchase.
Several dishes can be made using leftover foods like chapatis can be used to make laddoos/ bhaji while leftover vegetables can be used to make cutlets/wraps etc and spoilt or soggy veggies can be used to make smoothies.
Mix and match different ingredients to create new dishes. That way you can purchase less but make interesting dishes.
Share or donate as and when required-
If you think it’s excess share or donate as and when required but don’t waste.
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Awesome ideas Aditi
Smart tips by smart one
thank you doc