The massive issue with food waste, and what you can do about it
We all know the unpleasant feeling that goes along with tossing wasted food into the bin. Maybe it’s that head of lettuce you told yourself you’d get healthy with, the leftovers you forewent for take away on a busy weeknight, or the remaining cilantro from a dinner you made (why do they sell you sooooo much of that stuff anyway?) Whatever the reason, most of us move on pretty quickly, assuming it’s not a huge deal or that it’s fine because we put it in the green bin. The truth is, food waste is a huge problem for a lot of different reasons, even when properly disposed of. Canada alone wastes about 2.2 million tons, or $17 billion worth, of food each year. This is an astronomical amount of perfectly good food disposed of! Today, we’re diving into the issue with food waste and how you can eliminate unnecessary food waste from your household.
What is food waste
Let’s first start off by discussing what food waste is. Food waste is any food that was not consumed, including inedible food scraps like banana peels and bones, untouched leftovers, and food that expired before it was touched. Inedible food waste is unavoidable, and while there are many creative uses for some of this food (like giving eggshells to your pups, using coffee grinds to fertilize some plants, etc.) this is a largely acceptable form of food waste. The problem lies with food that could have been eaten but wasn’t. Why?
The issue with food waste
Image courtesy of the Toronto Star
There are four main issues with food waste in general. The first is that wasting food squanders the resources, including water, fuel for transport, and more, that were required to produce that food. The second pertains to improperly disposed of food (ie. food that was thrown in the garbage), which makes its way to the landfill where it is covered up by other garbage and forced to decompose in an anaerobic (oxygen-lacking) state. This produces methane, which is an extremely harmful greenhouse gas. The third issue pertains to properly disposed of food (ie. food that was thrown in a green bin), which despite not being destined for a landfill, still creates the need for additional city resources and management and as result, costs. The fourth and final issue is that, in a country where 1 in 7 families do not know where their next meal will come from, food waste poses a massive societal problem that has only been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to combat food waste
There are a number of things you can do to eliminate food waste from your household. Here are some of our top tips!
1. Shop at refill stores: In addition to skipping the packaging, shopping at stores that allow you to refill containers lets you take only what you need, avoiding overbuying and throwing away what you don’t get to use in time. Some stores in the city go as far as having milk, peanut butter, cheese, and other perishables available for purchase in as little or as large of a quantity as you need! This is a fantastic guide for finding stores in Toronto that allow you to refill your own containers.
2. Plan your meals: If you don’t plan your meals, you are more likely to buy things that won’t get used before they expire, plain and simple! Planning your meals ensures that you are buying exactly what you need as well as exactly how much you need to eat for the week. Try scheduling a time in your calendar to commit to meal planning. You’ll find that after a while, it’ll become a habit! Also try to save recipes you like as a bookmark or in a note on your phone so that you have an easy reference guide to your favourite meals as opposed to starting from scratch each week.
3. Make use of every last bit: Sometimes you inevitably buy too much or, if you can’t shop at refill stores, you’re forced to buy more than you need. In that case, get creative! Veggies and leafy greens nearing the end of their life can easily be combined into a soup or an omelet, for example, and there is no shortage of great ideas for you to consult online.
Image courtesy of Second Harvest
4. Store food properly: Storing food properly will lengthen it’s lifespan, giving you more time to use it up. For example, chopping off the base of herbs and placing them in water, just like flowers, will extend their life (you can also freeze scrap herbs) and washing and placing berries in a larger container where they are less overcrowded will get you at least a couple more mold-free days. Just like using scraps, take to the internet when considering how to store the food you buy!
5. For restaurants and other producers: For more commercial players, one of the most incredible ways we know of to reduce food waste is to join forces with Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue charity and a global thought leader in food recovery. They work across the supply chain, from farm to retail, to capture good, healthy unsold food before it ends up in landfills. This food is then redistributed, free of charge, to a broad network of social service agencies, which allows them to offset their food costs, making their programs more effective while providing food to those facing food insecurity. Their Food Rescue App makes this super easy by allowing local food donors to share their unsold food with non-profits in their own communities. Businesses post their surplus food using the app and community organizations can claim it and pick it up when needed. So cool!
Playing our part
At Suppli, we understand that wastefulness in the food industry goes beyond just single-use waste generated by takeout meals, with food waste being another massive culprit. That’s why we are super excited to announce our partnership with Second Harvest! Through this partnership, we will be donating $1 each time a friend is referred to Suppli. This money will create two meals from someone facing food insecurity. All you need to do is encourage your friends to sign-up for a free Suppli account and indicate that they heard about us through a friend. We also have some more exciting initiatives with Second Harvest in the works, including onboarding Suppli restaurants to the Food Rescue App! If you’re interested in learning more about Second Harvest, you can do so here. You can also amplify our impact by making your own, personal donation to Second Harvest to combat food waste and food insecurity!
