Harness the Power of Food Waste
The holidays are fast approaching and we know exactly what that means; lots and lots and lots of food. We wanted to provide you with an easy guide on what to do with the food waste in your home and how you can help reduce how much food is wasted.
In the United States, about 30-40% of our food supply is wasted. Individually, it is estimated that we each throw away around 219 pounds of food annually. This doesn’t only waste food, but also money; it is the equivalent of tossing $1600 dollars worth of food, per family, out the window. But, never fear! There are plenty of easy ways to reduce waste, especially around the holidays when big, delicious meals are more routinely served!
Check out this food recovery hierarchy chart from the USDA:
Click the image for more on the Food Recovery Hierarchy from the EPA!
We use the term “food recovery” because rather than tossing it out, we want to give the food more value, practicality and possibly use it to help others. Below, we are going to dive into each section of the chart and provide some examples of what you can be doing whether you order out or cook in!
Source Reduction
This technique is the easiest, most available, most preferred and one of the most impactful. The base of source reduction is to not use more than you need, which means: Be conscious of how much you are buying, where you are buying it, how much you are making, and how much you have left over.
If you are making food:
Pay attention to where you are buying your food. If it is a farmer’s market or from a local vendor, there is a chance it utilized less resources to get to you. For their food waste, many local farms, like Tiger Mountain Foundation, pair with organizations to give surplus crop to those who need it rather than let it go to the landfill. If you are making your own meal take a headcount of people and get just enough to feed them all. If you end up making too much, prep some leftovers in reusable containers for your guests. This can avoid surplus leftovers from spoiling in your refrigerator.
If you are ordering food:
Check out our Green Business Certification tracker, located right here. All of the searchable businesses on this platform are aware of the need to pay attention to their waste and some have even gone the extra mile of conducting waste audits to minimize their own food waste. You can also look into where the business you are ordering from gets their food. Linger Longer Lounge is getting more and more of its food from local farms and this can reduce waste substantially.
Feed Hungry People:
If you are making food:
It may seem unorthodox but if you have leftovers and would like to provide hot meals for folks who need them you may consider putting together care packages that you can give out. You can also donate surplus food supplies to community food banks. The best way to search for a food bank is by using the Arizona Food Bank Networks, click this link and scroll down to it.
If you are ordering food:
If you are ordering food, look and see if any of the businesses are engaging in our Feed Phoenix program, like Der Wurst Hotdogs. They always try to make sure any surplus food supply they have goes to those in need rather than the landfill. You can also check out Waste Not, an incredible local business that provides fast transit for leftover food. They have a big group of volunteers on standby to safely take leftover food and meals from local businesses and deliver it to community partners to disperse to people who need it. Check out their list of restaurants that use their services, that way you know your business is supporting an organization that supports others and limits food waste!
Feed Animals:
If you are making food:
This one is more difficult when you are making your own food. If you have your own animals, feel free to share any foods that won’t hurt them. Otherwise, ordering food may be a better match for this one.
If you are ordering food:
Check out cool restaurants like AZ Wilderness who provide the waste from their brewing process to local farmers to be used as feed for their animals. They also order from those farmers which creates a tight-knit, supportive business community! If you are looking for cocktails, Adventurous Stills does this with the waste from distilling their spirits!
Industrial Uses:
Right now, we don’t have business members engaging in industrial uses but with the way technology is continually getting better, who knows what the future holds.
Composting:
If you are making food:
There are some great options for folks who want to compost. You can compost at home, which requires some planning (for more info click here), but we are going to focus on some local businesses that make it easy for you. Composting breaks down your food waste into the soil which can then be used to make more food!
Flagstaff:
How to sign up: You just have to reach out to them by filling out this form. It only costs 20 dollars a month to get your compost picked up twice!
What can be composted: They say yes to fruit, veggies, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells. They say no to plastic bags, meat, bones, fat and pet waste.
Flagstaff/Sedona:
How to sign up: Just click on this link to start the sign-up process! It costs $20 for every other week pick up and $38 for a weekly pick up.
What can be composted: They say yes to fruit, veggies, eggshells, bread, grains, beans, pasta, coffee grinds, tea bags, nuts, dryer lint, vacuum link, hair, citrus peel and melon rinds. They say no to meat/fish, dairy, bones and bioplastics (plastics that say biodegradable or compostable).
Phoenix:
How to sign up: Just click on this link to start the sign-up process. It costs $25 dollars for weekly pickup, $15 dollars for every other week, and $10 dollars for once a month!
What can be composted: R.City has the capacity to compost so many things including bones, dairy and meat. The list is so expansive that we will put a link right here for you to check it out yourself!
Tucson:
How to sign up: Sign up for their email list! They are currently not taking anymore customers until the City of Tucson compost facility is complete, but as soon as they are, they will be ready to go!
If you are ordering food:
Pay attention to businesses that take it upon themselves to compost, you can find this in Phoenix by clicking R. City’s map right here. If you are in Flagstaff or Sedona check out Compost Crowd’s “About Me” section and scroll to the middle, they have some of the restaurants that use their services listed there. They proudly display the businesses that compost with them and you can pick your favorite to order some dinner from.
Landfill/Incineration:
If you can’t do anything else, it goes to the landfill! Luckily, you have dozens of options before arriving at the bottom of this pyramid. And similar to the picture, this will hopefully be the smallest portion of your food waste!