Chris Wong
March is Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is Ingredients for a Healthier Tomorrow!
A dietitian's role in a food system allows them to leverage change through influencing sustainable food choices, and contributing to creating food systems which consider the health of individuals, community, and the planet.
Food systems are complex, and creating sustainable food systems involve more than just changing our food choices, as they also encompass the connection between food, public health, and the environment. Having physical and economic access to food, and making more environmentally friendly food choices are just a couple of the many key ingredients in a sustainable food system.
Research done by the National Zero Waste Council in 2017 showed that 63% of the food wasted by Canadian households was food that could have been eaten. For an average Canadian household that adds up to 140 kg of wasted food per year, which would cost more than $1100 per year. This accumulates to almost 2.2 million tonnes of edible food being wasted each year, by Canada as a whole.
This amount of food waste is equivalent to 9.8 million tonnes of CO2, and is costing Canadians in excess of $17 billion.
As we can see, this research shows that avoidable household food waste causes significant financial and environmental consequences. However, the good news is that avoidable household food waste is exactly what it sounds like. It’s avoidable.
In this blog post we will provide a few tips that you may find helpful for making more sustainable and affordable food choices at the household level. It is important to note that these tips are NOT long-term solutions for food insecurity or the climate crisis, but rather these are tips that may help to make food more affordable for individuals and reduce household food waste.
1. Plan your meals, and your shopping list
Plan out your meals for the majority of the week, but keep your plans flexible by including foods and ingredients that are versatile. Having a plan can help you to remember to use all the food that you’ve purchased, and staying flexible and buying versatile ingredients gives you the chance to get creative with different dishes, in case your plans change.
Once you have your meal plan, make a grocery list and try to stick to it. This helps you to buy only what you need, and reduces the risk of purchasing too much, as well as the risk of impulse buying.
2. Look for discounted items
Besides regular sales and deals, many grocery stores also will offer food items that are close to reaching their best before date, as well as “imperfect” produce* for a discounted price. Buying these foods can not only save you some money, but it also reduces the amount of food being thrown out if they are not sold in time!
* Keep in mind that “imperfect” produce is often just misshaped or thought to be ugly. But despite their appearances, they are still just as nutritious as their typically-shaped counterparts.
3. How to deal with extra food and leftovers
Leftovers are great, they can be enjoyed for another meal, or they can even be used to make a whole new dish!
The shelf life of many foods can be extended through freezing. This allows extra food and ingredients to be stored and used at a later date, rather than spoiling and being wasted.
Some foods that freeze well include:
Fruits (eg. berries, pitted stone fruit, and cooked apples and pears)
Most vegetables (eg. onions, carrots, spinach, corn, broccoli)
Raw or cooked meats, poultry, and fish
Dairy products (eg. milk, yogurt, shredded cheese)
Grain products (e.g. breads and cooked rice)
Donating food items that you know you will not use in time is also a great way to deal with a surplus without having to throw it out.
4. Food storage
Proper food storage is one of the most important factors when it comes to optimizing the shelf life and freshness of food, to reduce food waste. Here are some key things to remember when storing food:
Cold foods should be kept in a fridge between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius
Frozen foods should be stored in a freezer between -18 and 0 degrees Celsius
Non-perishable foods should be stored in a clean, dry, and room temperature location
First in, First out: every time you purchase more groceries, rotate the stock of your pantry/fridge/freezer, to ensure that you use your oldest food items before the newer ones
Be aware of the best before/due dates. Know how long you have before food is likely to go bad, and use it before it spoils
For more information on the optimal storage methods for specific fruits and vegetables, check out this guide
The tips provided in this blog post are certainly not an exhaustive list, but we hope that these tips were a useful starting point in navigating affordable food choices and reducing food waste at the household level.
References:
Food waste in the home. Love Food Hate Waste Canada. (2022, February 23). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://lovefoodhatewaste.ca/about/food-waste/
Healthy eating and the environment. Canada Food Guide. (2021, July 21). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/healthy-eating-and-the-environment/
Healthy eating on a budget. Canada Food Guide. (2021, July 2021). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/healthy-eating-budget/
How to store fruits and Veggies. Half Your Plate. (2022, January 25). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.halfyourplate.ca/fruits-and-veggies/store-fruits-veggies/
Tips On Reducing Food Waste At Home. Unlock Food. (2020, February 21). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Cooking-And-Food/Cooking-Methods/Tips-On-Reducing-Food-Waste-At-Home.aspx
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