By SLCgreen Intern Iris Tang
The holiday season is upon us, and Thanksgiving is already around the corner. This can be a time to gather with loved ones and enjoy some great food, often bringing recipes we only enjoy once or twice a year. Annual traditions can also bring them long-held habits that can bring about excess food and plastic waste.
Food waste is a major issue even outside of the holiday season—about 40% of all food produced in the US never gets eaten. This amount increases by an additional 25% between Thanksgiving and New Years!
Reducing food waste is an often-overlooked way to reduce the impact of potent methane emissions on the planet and to help others, but our food choices are important. In Utah, food choices contribute about 25% of the household carbon footprint. This is a result of the growing, harvesting, transportation, packaging, and cooking processes involved with getting our food to our tables.
But holidays can be a great place to start when rethinking long-held traditions and habits and how our actions can impact our community. So no matter how you celebrate, we at SLCgreen want to encourage sustainable habits around gathering for the holidays, from food waste to decorations. With Thanksgiving being such a food-focused holiday, here are some tips to make the most of your meals and waste less food.
The Food Waste Problem
Food waste is a monumental environmental issue—making up 6-8% of global emissions. To put this into perspective: if food waste was represented as a country, it would be the third largest emitter behind China and the United States!
In the United States, 40% of the food produced is not eaten and over 365 million pounds of it is thrown out every day. In Utah specifically there is over 600,000 tons of food wasted per year.
Reducing Your Food Waste
The highest percentage of food waste comes from our homes—the average U.S. household wastes 32% of the food it obtains! Although food waste is a multifaceted issue there are several simple things you can do to help:
Shop Smart
Being conscious of the food we need, have, and buy is the first step to reducing waste.
- Shop your own kitchen first—use what you already have
- Buy and use “ugly” foods—a misshapen apple tastes the same as a pretty one!
- Meal plan and make thoughtful shopping lists
Proper Storage
- Store leftovers and perishables front and center at eye level
- Use your freezer and invest in airtight containers
- Regularly take stock of your pantry and fridge to prevent waste and overbuying
Learn About Labels
Expiration dates are not actually expiration dates–the dates you see on food are mostly about quality not food safety! Perishable foods are usually safe to consume past their given dates if they’ve been handled and stored properly.
All the labels below are NOT safety dates:
- Best if used by: these labels detail when a product will be of best flavor or quality NOT when it ‘expires’.
- Sell by: this label tells the store how long to display a product for inventory management.
- Use by: last date recommended for use of product for peak quality,
- UNLESS it is infant formula where the safety dates are regulated.
- Freeze by: when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality.
To know when food has actually gone bad, focus on your senses rather than dates and labels:
- Look for mold and abnormal texture
- Smell for “off” odor
- Avoid “off” tastes
For more tips and information on how to reduce food waste visit the EPA’s page.
Diverting Food Waste
But what else is being done to address food waste? Thankfully, there are organizations dedicated to not only cutting down food waste but making the most out of it.
One example is Waste Less Solutions, a local non-profit organization dedicated to cutting food waste through education and redistribution. Waste Less Solutions runs a food diversion program where community volunteers rescue edible food and connect it those that are food insecure. Their system comprises of donors, volunteer ‘rescuers’, and partner organizations. Donors alert them of their excess food waste with the Food Rescue app and their rescuers transport it to partner organizations for distribution.
Waste Less Solutions has done amazing work for their cause. Their organization has saved over 1.6 million pounds of food—which is more than $3 million dollars’ worth! With this rescued food they have served approximately 1.4 million meals to the underfed.
Waste Less Solutions is also ardently engaged in education and community outreach. They actively pursue opportunities to educate the public on food waste by participating in local events, interviews, and news outlets. They also host classes and offer meetups for those wanting to be more involved with cutting food waste. Visit their events page to learn about upcoming opportunities!
Another organization helping to divert food waste is Momentum Recycling with the help of Wasatch Resource Recovery. As of November 2023, Momentum Recycling is expanding its residential food waste recycling subscription service to include areas of Sugar House and the East Bench of Salt Lake City. Residents in select areas of Salt Lake City can sign up for residential curbside food waste recycling through Momentum Recycling. Those looking for a free option can drop off their food waste at Wasatch Resource Recovery. All types of food waste is accepted through these programs! It is converted into renewable natural gas and organic fertilizer using anaerobic digestion. Because the recycling process involves anaerobic digestion instead of composting, all types of food waste are accepted, including meat and dairy, packaged and pre-prepared foods, grains, and fats, oils, and grease (in addition to traditionally compostable foods like fruit and vegetables, eggshells, and coffee grounds.)
There are many options in considering how we can address food waste as individuals, families, and as a community. We hope this information is helpful in reducing food waste around you and with the upcoming holidays. Do you have any tips for us? Let us know!