Easy ways to reduce food waste
Did you know 40% of all food is wasted in the U.S?
Food waste is a serious problem for the environment. It takes a lot of energy, water and resources to grow food–not to mention the packaging and transportation emissions created to get it into your fridge. And, when unused food rots, it emits the greenhouse gas methane. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to reduce the amount of food waste your household creates.
Store your food properly to prevent spoilage. Did you know that berries do best stored in a single layer? How about that potatoes and onions should be kept separately? Download a handy printable chart here with instructions for storing a variety of produce items. Compiled by Cultivating Community, this chart will help you keep your local produce fresh and delicious as long as possible.
When in doubt, freeze it! And portion out what you freeze into individual serving sizes so you don’t have to defrost more than you need at one time.
Plan meals around what you have in the fridge already.
Resist sales unless you know you will use or can freeze the items on sale (they’re not such a great deal if they end up in the waste bin!).
Make a grocery list, and follow it. Assess what you already have, write down what you need, and stick to the list when you get to the store so you don’t end up with excess.
Want to help save food within your community as well? Try gleaning – helping farmers clear the extra produce from their fields post-harvest. Depending on the event, the “rescued” food is either donated to charitable organizations and soup kitchens, or you get to take it home. Learn more and find gleaning events near you at www.mainegleaningnetwork.org.
Buy right-size portions of meat. A single serving portion is 3-4 oz. On average, uneaten meat accounts for more than twenty percent of meat’s greenhouse gas emissions!
Composting organic waste
Organic waste comprises about 40% of what goes into the average Maine trash can, and about half of that is food waste. That’s nearly a quarter of your trash that could instead be converted into nutrient-dense compost or farm fertilizer.
Even if you don’t have a yard or garden, you can compost your food waste through a curbside or drop-off composting service or visit one of ecomaine’s many free drop-off locations across Southern Maine.
Chickadee Compost - Blue Hill Peninsula
Garbage to Garden - Greater Portland region
Mr. Fox Composting - Maine Southern Beaches and New Hampshire Seacoast
Scrap Dogs - Midcoast region
1 Earth Composting - Bangor, Brewer and Hampden, Maine
Or compost right in your backyard! Find resources at extension.umaine.edu and search “Compost.”
Did you know you can compost, with a worm bin, at home? Worms eat your food scraps and leave behind nutrient-rich castings for your garden. Learn more about vermicomposting: WormMainea.com.
Learn more about how you can reduce food waste at stopfoodwaste.org and savethefood.com.
