Produce rotting in the back of your fridge? Bread going stale? Leftovers gone bad? You are not alone.
It is estimated that 30-40% of food is wasted in the United States- and the overwhelming majority of that wasted food is sent to landfills. But there are solutions to lessening our food waste!
Food stays fresh and consumable longer than we think, but only if it is stored correctly. Expiration dates typically refer quality rather than safety. Food can still be completely safe to eat, even if the “best by” dates are long gone.
Food waste begins at the food shopping experience.
Next time you visit the grocery store or farmers market- come prepared! Pack reusable cotton produce bags for loose fruits and vegetables, Vejibags to store fresh greens, jars for any bulk refill items such as spices, grains, and nuts, and reusable shopping bags for your trip home!
Now after unpacking all of the delicious pickings, it’s storage time… there are many effective and sustainable food storage options that are single-use plastic free!
Reusable silicone bags and bowls to store fresh produce, beeswax wraps to keep bread from going stale or going moldy, and food huggers for those halves of tomatoes, citrus, or apples. Other food storage hacks include storing fresh herbs in bouquets to last weeks rather than wilting in a single-use plastic bag in a matter of days.
Leftovers for the win!
When cooking, getting takeout, or sitting down at a restaurant, there is hopefully some leftover for the next day, but will they still be fresh? Storing leftovers correctly helps us want to actually consume them! Bring containers with you to restaurants like bento boxes to store to-go food. Portion out leftovers into silicone freezer trays so you can easily pop one into a pot, heat up, and enjoy. Or freeze leftover juice and smoothies into silicone freeze pop molds for a refreshing treat!
Sometimes milk goes sour and lettuce wilts, it happens to the best of us! Stop by the shop and ask us about our favorite food waste prevention tips, tricks, and products to help reduce our waste!
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