How Can I Reduce My Food Waste at Home?
Plan your main meals and snacks for the week and prepare a shopping list, sticking to this list and avoiding excess or unnecessary sales will save you time, money, and reduce food waste.
Purchase your fruits and vegetables from the bulk section if possible, this allows you to choose only the amount you need and place them in your own produce bags eliminating single use plastic packaging.
If you choose to buy more than you need at the time make sure to freeze any leftover sliced vegetables, bread, or fruit for later. Although planning and prepping your meals can be more time consuming up front doing so will save you time throughout the week and make cooking nightly much easier.
The below resources are great for recipes to use up leftover food as well as information on how long food actually lasts:
- Love Food Hate Waste
- Too Good To Waste
- Eat by Date
- Food Storage Guide
- Maximize Your Kitchen Stash and Minimize Trash
Where Can I Donate Food?
If you are in the process of downsizing your pantry, making a move, or heading home from college please bring your nonperishables to one of the below organizations instead of throwing them away.
- Feeding America
- CHOW
- Food Bank of the Southern Tier
- Loaves & Fishes
- Bear Necessities Food Pantry
- Catholic Charities of Broome County
Composting
Luckily in Broome County most of us have outdoor space, but even if you don’t, composting is still possible. There are a variety of composting methods for any size space either indoor or outdoor, and all times of year, the only limitation will be your understanding of the process and your enthusiasm.
If you are interested in composting in a backyard setting, please be aware you can pick up an Earth Machine Composter from the Broome County Landfill at any time for a price of $45 plus tax.
Please visit our Composting Page for more information regarding how you can start removing wasted food from the waste stream today!