It’s Stop Food Waste Day, a day to bring awareness to a problem that contributes to many of the world’s challenges. Today’s post has some alarming stats on food waste and why it’s something we all need to be concerned about. Then, I’ve got 12 easy and practical ways you can cut food waste.
This post was originally published in April 2021 and updated in April 2024.
What is Stop Food Waste Day?
Stop Food Waste Day was started in the United States in 2017 by food service company Compass Group. The idea behind the day was to educate and ignite change, and to cut food waste in half by 2030.
In 2018, Stop Food Waste Day went global. Today, it’s an international day of action in the fight against food waste.
How big a problem is food waste?
Compass Canada provides some alarming statistics about food waste in Canada:
- 30% of all food produced ends up in landfill.
- The cost of the food alone is $31 Billion. When the costs to produce and transport the food are factored in, the price tag increases to $100 Billion a year.
- Almost half of all food wasted in Canada is from our homes.
At a time when Statistics Canada reports one in five Canadian families is experiencing food insecurity, we clearly must do better.
But this is a global issue. Stopwastingfoodmovement.org reports these equally shocking facts on food waste:
- Globally, enough food is wasted to feed 3 billion of the 7 billion people on our planet.
- If just one quarter of the food lost globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million people. To put that in perspective, 970 million people around the world are starving.
- Food waste is a problem in all regions. The food wasted in Europe, Latin America and Africa could feed 200 million, 300 million and 300 million people respectively.
- Food loss and waste also add up to a huge sustainability issue, squandering precious resources, including water, land, energy, labour and capital. Lost food production also needlessly produces greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change.
It’s time for change! And, like every other issue, change can start with you.
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
12 practical ways you can cut food waste
Buy at bulk food stores
I am a huge fan of bulk food stores, especially those that let you bring your own containers. People often think of bulk food as large quantities, but it’s actually quite the opposite. You can buy only what you need. If you need a small quantity of an ingredient for a recipe, buy a small scoop. You’ll save money, reduce packaging waste and cut food waste.
Make the most of your freezer
Your freezer can help reduce food waste in a couple of ways.
- Freeze leftovers in meal-sized portions you can easily reheat.
- If you don’t eat your produce fast enough, freeze some as soon as you buy it. As an example, I put a scoop of spinach in my smoothie every morning. It’s more economical to buy a large package of spinach, but not if you end up throwing it away. I started to freeze half of the package of spinach.
Find multi-purpose items
If you find you don’t use up a specific ingredient quickly, see if you can substitute something else you commonly buy. For example, I used to throw away half of every container of sour cream I bought. Then, I learned that I can substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream in recipes and dips. I use yogurt in my smoothies, too. One less container taking up space in my fridge, and less food waste. A win-win!
Check out this page on allrecipes.com for some other substitutes for common items.
Plan your meals ahead and make a grocery list
This is an area I can definitely improve on. I am not very good at planning meals ahead, although since working from home, I’ve started to do more planning for my lunches. Planning ahead lets you make a shopping list and only buy what you need.
Use up your leftovers
Instead of tossing your leftovers, think about whether you can turn them into tomorrow’s lunch or tomorrow evening’s dinner.
Don’t stock up or overbuy
It’s so tempting to buy large quantities when items are on sale. But the savings quickly vanish if you end up throwing things away. Buy only what you know you’ll need in the next couple of months. The item will go on sale again.
Buy frozen produce
Frozen produce is picked and frozen at peak freshness, so it often has better nutritional value than the fresh out-of-season produce you buy in the grocery store in winter. Frozen fruits and vegetables are also a great choice for single people or small families that don’t eat fresh produce quickly enough.
When buying frozen produce, look for recyclable plastic bags. Avoid the stand-up pouch type bags that are not accepted in many municipal recycling programs.
Find out what your favourite restaurants do with their food waste
Many restaurant chains routinely throw away leftover food at the end of each day. But there are exceptions. I learned that COBS Bread donates all of their leftover bread and baking to local charities at the end of each day. We need more of these kinds of programs.
Be informed about the dates on food products
Most foods have best before dates. A best before date is about food quality, not food safety. It is not the same as an expiration date. It is safe to eat most food after the best before date, as long as it has been stored properly.
Some items, like meal replacements and infant formula, have expiration dates. It is not safe to consume these items after the expiration date.
Think before you toss
If the fruit and veggies in your fridge are looking a little wilted, get creative. Can you bake those apples in a pie, freeze the brown bananas for baking and smoothies, or make soup out of those wilting veggies?
Compost or use your green bin
Despite our best efforts, some food waste will happen. Consider composting your food waste for use in your garden. If you don’t want or need to compost and your municipality has a green bin program, be sure to use it. More than half of household food waste can be diverted from landfill using green bin programs.
Embrace the doggy bag
Is it just me, or are the portion sizes in most restaurants way too big these days? When dining out, don’t be afraid to ask your server for a container to take your leftovers home. Tonight’s restaurant leftovers make a great lunch or dinner for tomorrow.
And, reduce waste by keeping a container or two in your car and bringing them into restaurants to package your leftovers.
Let’s all do our part to cut food waste. If you have other ideas, share them below.
Another amazing post!
My partner and I have started planning meals as we grocery shop. While we don’t plan which day we’ll eat everything precisely, we do say okay, this item is for this meal, and we can have these meal ideas between these dates. We buy what we need for the month, count everything out and ensure everything is bought for a meal, not just because it looks good.
Freezing items is a good tip to make them last longer. When I lived alone, I would freeze half a loaf of bread, for example.
Buying what you NEED, not what’s on sale, is a good idea, as you are not saving anything if you throw it away. Frozen fruits are so useful as well. I have some frozen cherries in the freezer, and I will take some out on the night, defrost in the fridge and eat them the next day. This process makes them last longer, they don’t go off and I eat the portion size suitable for me.
The container idea is such a good idea as well! Thank you for sharing these 12 practical tips. 😊
These are all excellent tips. You need to talk to my husband about buying what you need, not what’s on sale. When something goes on sale, he overbuys which just creates clutter and sometimes results in waste. I remind him that this is not the only time in the future of the world that an item will be onsale.
Planning is important, and it’s something I could defintely improve on.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
My mum is the same, as she just gravitates towards the sale items. However, when we do need something, she always has it, and she does make sure it doesn’t go to waste.
It took my partner and me so long to plan our food shop properly, we are pretty confident in it now, but it has taken four months (just about) to do it properly.
Thank you for your response. 😊
Great tips! I have recently started freezing my leftovers thanks to my husband and it has really helped us stop wasting food and save a lot of money on our grocery bill. It also helps us avoid so much takeout. As for buying frozen produce, a lot of people complain about the taste, but honestly, it tastes just as good! Alternatively, buying fresh and freezing works well too.
Personally, I find frozen produce tastes better than the “fresh” produce we buy in the winter. Frozen produce is picked and frozen at maximum freshness, unlike the fresh stuff that has travelled on a truck for the better part of a week from Florida or California. Nothing beats in-season produce fresh from the farm but, here in Canada, that isn’t an option for us 8 months out of the year.
You raise a fair point! I love freezing my own goods, so I presume it’s the same concept 😊
These are some great tips. I know that we are pretty good about food waste here, especially with our new (larger) composter in the back yard. However, I never thought to stop and ask the local restaurant owners what they are doing with their waste. I know that there are a lot of local charitable groups that could use it – we are dealing with a housing crisis and an influx of homelessness. It only makes sense to use that waste to help take care of those who need it locally.
Right! I love the Cobs Bakery program. I really wish more restaurants would do things like that. I suppose if more people ask about it, they might.
These numbers are really shocking and sad. This is something I’ve been really mindful of over the last few years and I’m happy to say that we rarely throw any food – although I know we can always do better. Your tips are really helpful. I love that Cobs is donating bread – I’d definitely like to know what other local restaurants are doing.
It is sad to see these numbers. It’s something many people don’t give a second thought to. I love the Cobs program. We need to see more of that!
I love these ideas! Using up apples to make applesauce is one of my favorite ways to use produce that is past its prime.
That’s a great tip Corinna! My husband hates brown bananas. Even the slightest bit of brown turns him off. I freeze them for baking and to put in my smoothies!
I hate food wastage !!!!
Also in parties or an open buffet people hoard their plates with food items which eventually end up in trash…. which is plain sad
My tip- Always take lesser portion than what you actually eat, if you don’t like the taste, it won’t be a wastage and in case you liked the taste you can fill up your plate (but only up to amount which you usually eat) and this will also be pleasing for the host as they will think that you are enjoying their food.
That is such an excellent point. My mother always used to say “your eyes are bigger than you belly” meaning you always think you want to eat more than you actually can. Smaller portions at parties and buffets are a great tip.
These are all great ideas! I never thought about checking with restaurants about their food waste.
Thanks Michelle. Most restaurants probably don’t want you to know!
This is a great list. We typically eat leftovers for lunch and if I have a lot we have them for dinner. I love doing this because it saves me planning a meal!
Thanks Suzanne. I love leftovers too! It’s nice not to have to think about today’s lunch and/or dinner. In fact, when I make a big dinner on Sunday, I deliberately make more so Monday’s dinner is taken care of too!
I HATE wasting food. I sometimes wonder if it is a subtle DNA variation I inherited from my grandparents who lived through the great depression. I am a fan of freezing soup when I make a big pot of it. We also share a composting bin with our upstairs neighbors (which eventually gets spread on the various borders around our house, leading to the voluntary sprouting of all sorts of vegetables such as tomatoes and squashes!) My goal is to reduce my portion sizes at each meal…and simply eat less overall. Thank you for these tips and reminders.
I think previous generations had less tolerance for waste than we do today. My Mum was raised in a very large family with 13 siblings and not a lot of money. Nothing ever went to waste! I learned a lot of my habits from her.