We renovated our kitchen last fall and one of our big decisions was to buy a smaller fridge. Why did we make this decision, when (in this country, anyway) bigger appliances are often considered better? Quite simply, we wanted to stop wasting so much food--food which was getting squirreled away, lost in the back of our fridge, and forgotten. Now, if we end up buying too much fresh food, we end up struggling mightily to fit it all in the fridge, which is NO FUN and requires a highly developed sense of spatial relations.
Having too much food is a luxurious problem, unique to First World countries. While many millions of people worldwide are struggling just to get to their next meal, Americans routinely throw out food which has gone bad because they didn't eat it quickly enough. Our family is guilty of this practice many times over, throwing out moldy bread that's been hiding in the bottom of the breadbasket, discovering scary-looking cheese that's developed strange and unusual colors, and cooking a brand-new meal when we already have more than enough left-overs in the fridge. My mother-in-law has renamed the fruit and vegetable crisper in her fridge "the rotter"--funny, but sadly true for too many of us.
We've felt slightly less guilty about over-buying food ever since we got a composter (so at least the food waste isn't going to the landfill), but we wanted to make a concerted effort to stop the food waste cycle in the first place. Enduring Hurricane Sandy and nine days without power was a big turning point for us, as we had to throw out an entire fridge and freezer full of food, plus the contents of the fridge in our basement (the previous owners' fridge, which we'd also been filling up to capacity like crazed stockpilers). The sheer waste was sobering. Why did we need all of this food? We're only four people, not an army.
Melissa d'Arabian, a chef on The Food Network, once talked about a time in her life when her finances were very tight, so she decided to challenge herself to a month of no shopping for packaged foods--creatively using only the food already in her pantry. Inspired by her challenge, we're doing the same thing. We're buying only dairy, breads, and produce, until our pantry food is used up. This means keeping our pantry in better order--soups with soups, pastas with pastas, etc., so we can see at-a-glance what's available. It also means going through all of the produce, breads, and dairy foods on a weekly basis--before grocery shopping--so we're fully aware of what we already have. Fresh fruits and veggies need to be eaten before the frozen and canned ones.
Meal planning takes extra time, but I'd much rather spend my time figuring out how to use the foods I already have than throwing away large quantities of it because I didn't take the time to be more mindful in the first place.
Meagan Francis, blogger at The Kitchen Hour, inspired this post with her article, "Simple Strategies for Reducing Food Waste (and Saving Money!) Thanks, Meagan, for reminding me to stick to our mission and to share it here.
Food for thought: How can you reduce your food waste?
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We have a small house with a small kitchen. When we first moved in, our friends & family were really concerned about where we'd keep our food. But even with the addition of two children, we have plenty of space for our food. One of the things that helps is that we don't buy a lot of packaged/processed food to start with. Also, we don't shop at Costco or buy stuff on sale just because. We really truly only buy (and thus store)what we're actually going to eat. For example, I used up the last of the white flour baking cookies in December. I put white flour on the list for the next shopping trip and then realized that I won't actually use the white flour until next December when I do Christmas baking again, so why buy it right now and store it for a year? Also, we don't drink soda or juice. If you're not storing a lot of drinks in the fridge, you have plenty of space for food in there.
It's not all perfect, of course. My husband eats meat and I don't, so we end up throwing away leftover meat sometime. At least here in Portland, we can compost meat, so it's not going to the landfill...
Posted by: Janna | 02/06/2013 at 11:34 AM
Thanks so much for the link and mention. I love this post! I HATE throwing away food, so I had to get really honest with myself about why it was happening and what I could do to stop it. We still waste more than we should, but it's getting so much better!
Posted by: Meagan Francis | 02/06/2013 at 11:42 AM
Good thoughts here, Janna. I agree with you that a huge step is not shopping at Costco (or BJ's, which we used to belong to when our kids were little, mostly for the bulk diapers). We would leave the store with all sorts of unnecessary things. I'm also with you on the soda--I gave it up after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, so it's good not to have to fight with those big liter bottles in the fridge anymore.
You're lucky to live in such a green city--I wish our town composted!
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 02/06/2013 at 02:39 PM
You're very welcome, Meagan. Glad to have found you and your blog through the BlogHer feature story.
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 02/06/2013 at 02:40 PM
Hi! I am a new reader and I really enjoyed this post and your blog. Our pantry has been bare because I hate grocery shopping. I try to see how long we can go before I have to go to the store. Now a days, I buy my fresh food at the farmers market and order dry goods on amazon. Anyway, I look forward to following your food journey!
Kate
Posted by: Kate@organizationforthetypeB | 02/06/2013 at 03:47 PM
Hi Kate! Thanks so much for introducing yourself and for the kind words. Always glad to meet a new reader! Farmers' markets really are the best way to go...especially the ones that feature organic produce.
Posted by: Joy @ JoyfullyGreen.com | 02/06/2013 at 05:22 PM
With the impending move, I HAVE to start cleaning out my pantry so when I went to the store yesterday (along with about a million of my closest friends given the storm), I mostly stayed on the perimeter and bought "fresh" stuff.
I am looking forward to your composter reviews this spring because I really think I want to get one when we move!
Posted by: Amanda | 02/08/2013 at 05:01 AM