5 Simple Ways To Prevent Food Wastage

More food than you or I could ever imagine is wasted around the world on a daily basis (That is a very bad thing because the price of food is rising and there are people who do not have food to eat).

I genuinely believe that everyone can do their part (with a bit of proper planning, of course) to prevent the wastage of food.

So, without further ado, it is time for me to tell you how you can do your best to prevent food wastage.

1.) Buy The Amount Of Food That You Know That You And Your Family Are Going To Eat

For starters, it is your family; therefore, you should have an idea of how much food they consume daily (That should give you an idea as to how much food that you will need to buy whenever you are purchasing a month’s worth of food items at the supermarket).

By the way, if it happens to be a large quantity of food, I recommend getting those that are expiring no less than three months into the future (The further the expiration date, the better).

If your family is made of omnivores, I recommend that you read, How Long Does Frozen Meat Last? The Safest Way to Store Meat in the Freezer, by Hannah Jeon and Samantha Macavoy (Hopefully, knowing how long meat lasts when it is frozen should give you an idea of how much of it that you would need to buy at the supermarket).

If you are a seafood lover, you should have a look at, Seafood Safety: How Long Can Seafood Last In The Fridge (This information is vital if you plan on purchasing them).

If you or any of your family members eat eggs, you should read, How Long Do Eggs Last Before Going Bad? by Taylor Jones, RD (It will provide you with the information about how long they last as well as the correct temperature to store them at; which are things that everyone shopping for eggs should know).

Those of you who are into dairy products should have a look at Shelf Life of Dairy Products (It will let you know how long they last and that information will also come in handy whenever you are buying dairy products at the supermarket).

And, if your family is comprised of vegans (or you or a family member are simply someone who loves eating vegetables), reading, How to Store Vegetables to Keep them Fresh, would provide you with the knowledge on how to store them correctly as well as how long they are going to last (Which will come in handy whenever you are shopping for vegetables).

In addition to knowing how much food your family consumes daily, you will need to know how to store the various types of foods, the correct temperature to store them at and how long they last for.

Dear friend, if you have the knowledge of all of those things, you will, of course, make sensible decisions when it comes to buying food.

In most instances, the lack of knowledge of proper food storage contributes to food wastage.

So, it pays to be a well-informed grocery shopper.

2.) Plan Your Meals In Advance

Planning your meals in advance will help you to utilize the food that you actually have (And, that saves you a lot of time).

If you are into meal planners, I have the right one for you, it is called, Eat This Much ― The Automatic Meal Planner (It helps you to create personalized meal plans that are based on your food preference, your budget and schedule).

Hey, if you plan your meals in advance, you will know exactly which food and ingredients that you are going to use (And that, my friend, is a lovely way to cut down on food wastage).

3.) Invite People Over To Your House For Dinner

In addition to socializing, inviting people over for dinner is a great way to utilize surplus amounts of food. Those people can be:

• Your relatives whom you have not seen in a very long time.
• Your friends who live in as well as out of your area.
• Your colleagues from your workplace.
• Your next-door neighbours.

The best thing to do is to lay out the food on the table and allow them to serve themselves.

And, why should you allow them to serve themselves?

Because each person will know the amount of food that they can eat.

If there are any leftovers, pack them in a container for them to leave with (But, do ask first, if they would like to carry home some of the food; if restaurants can do it, you can do it too).

4.) Cut Down On The Number Of Times That You Eat Out

A lot of people purchase breakfast, lunch and dinner at places that sell food to eat.

Instead of purchasing food from a fast-food restaurant four times a week, cut it down to two times or once a week.

Why?

Because when you eat out, the food at your home is not being utilized; it is simply remaining there in your pantry and your refrigerator.

To make sure that the food in your house is being properly utilized, prepare a meal (one that can be eaten at lunchtime) and carry it with you.

5.) Prepare Meals And Carry Them For The Homeless

Preparing meals and carrying them for the homeless helps to alleviate the food wastage.

Besides, you will be doing a good deed ― one of those deeds that make you feel good about yourself.

You do not have to do it often if you fear that preparing meals and carrying it for the homeless is going to bankrupt you; it is one of those things that you can do once a month.

The Bottom Line

People can prevent food wastage by:

• Shopping smartly.
• Planning their meals in advance.
• Inviting people over to their house for dinner.
• Cutting down on the number of times that they eat out.
• Preparing meals and carrying them for the homeless.

So, let us all do our part to prevent food wastage.

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