This report just out by the Natural Resources Defense Council: "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of It's Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill." As one radio announcer described it- we drop 1 out of 3 grocery bags and don't bother to pick it up. And Americans are wasting 50% more food than they did in the 1970s. The cost of this food waste is $165 billion per year. All this in a country where 1 in 6 Americans do not have enough to eat (U.S. Department of Agriculture). I am guilty of throwing away old fruits and vegetables that I had the best intention of using. I recently found
canned foods out of date- the list goes on and on. When I have the least waste is when I am planning my weekly menus and one big benefit of cooking co-op is the cost savings of buying in bulk but having very little wasted. By planning meals Monday through Thursday, that gives me Friday through Sunday to use my left overs. One of my favorite organizations here in Richmond, VA is the Good Samaritan Inn. Their motto is "Offering a hand up, not a hand out." What a better use of resources to give to these type of organizations rather than throwing the wasted food money out with the trash. In these times when money is tight, less food dollars wasted means more dollars targeted to good causes!
