Food Waste

Resources to Reduce Food Waste

Wellness Wake Up Sun rising over a house
Listen
Listen to this short four minute podcast about how to reduce food waste at home by Nutrition & Wellness Educator, Kristin Bogdonas
vegetables in a serving line
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Promote the importance of reducing food waste through these 30 social media graphics and captions
Radishes and celery
Read
Read about how to use all parts of the plant when cooking and find a tasty radish greens chimichurri recipe
Plate of food on a wood surface
Watch
Watch a 45 minute talk about what you can do to reduce food waste at home, save money, and protect the environment

Try these easy tips to toss less food. 

Eating Tips

  • Join the “ugly” food movement and shop for the fun shapes foods can take on.
  • Notice how much food gets discarded during holidays, birthdays, and office parties. Serve less food, try a no-food event, or use your food waste knowledge to try something else.

Eating Out Tips

  • Reduce food waste while dining out! Order lunch portions or take home part of your meal for leftovers.
  • Restaurants often serve very large portions. Share to limit food waste – and have fun with your dining companion. 

Food Safety Tips

  • Whether a short or long power outage, find out which foods can be saved and which ones need to be thrown out. Read more about power outages and food. 
  • Not sure how long to keep food, or the best way to store it for longer shelf life? Use technology to answer your questions with “Save the Food” Skill on your smart speaker. 

Prolong Food Life

  • Refrigeration and freezing keep foods safe longer by delaying food decay and limiting most microbial growth.
  • Turn old and overripe produce into something new. Overripe bananas are great in banana bread. Soft, mealy apples make great applesauce or apple crisp.

Shopping Tips

  • Habits take time to build, including checking your kitchen food inventory before going shopping. What helps you remember to check before you shop?
  • Shop local farmers markets, roadside stands, and CSAs to buy just the amount you want.

Food Waste Usage

  • Start the conversation about where your food goes after trash pickup. Hint, it’s usually a landfill.
  • Reducing single-use packaging and food waste go hand in hand. Apply your food waste knowledge, and add in reusable packaging, like grocery totes or produce bags. Try making your own with upcycled materials!

The confusing amount of date labels on our food packages can also lead to unintended waste. Check out this date label guide to learn more about which labels indicate quality rather than safety issues.

Find these tips helpful? Read more about how to reduce food waste at home