Food Waste

A comprehensive look at how much food Canadians waste annually and ways to cut that down.

How much food do you think you waste every year? According to a study by Value Chain Management Center, Canadians on average waste 40% of their food, for a total of $27 billion dollars. That is crazy! So if you're wasting 40% of your consumable food, you're buying 40% too much. Isn't that great - you could save up to 40% on your groceries by only buying what you need!

Why Do We Waste So Much?

The Value Chain Management study found that the primary cause of the waste is the consumer. The main reasons for waste are:

• Buying too much food because it's a good deal
• Making too much food
• Not using food before it expires
• Lack of use of leftovers

This make sense to me, so I'm going to cover how we can fix these problems, as well as others I think are important.

It’s A Good Deal, I Should Stock Up

True it makes sense to stock up on items we know we go through because they're on sale. The reason why things go on sale isn't to save us money (that's a happy by-product), but rather to make us buy more and/or get rid of excess inventory. How often do you end up buying something you didn't intend to, but found on sale and thought you might use eventually? Buying on sale makes sense, but only if you need it. When you see something on sale ask yourself when the last time you bought it was? If you buy that item every week and don’t question whether you really need it, then definitely stock up. Otherwise, think hard before buying. Also try to only buy non-perishables on sale. That way you don't have to get around to eating them right away. Finally, set a limit for how much of every item you're going to buy. You don't need 10 bottles of mustard, this isn't Extreme Couponing. 

Making Too Much Food

It's hard to make just the right amount of food. Especially if you're single. Someone really needs to come up with a singles grocery store where everything comes in single servings.

So how does one make the right amount of food? I try to make all the food I'm going to eat all week on Sunday. It takes me about 3 hours and then I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the week. Once the food is prepared I put it into reusable containers with enough food for one meal. Everything goes into the freezer and that way when I want to eat I just heat and eat!

I Don't Feel Like Leftovers

I get it, leftovers aren't the most appealing thing to eat, but you've already made them, so don't let them go to waste. If you don't think you're going to eat them right away, freeze them for later. You could even try adding a new spin on your leftovers by adding another sauce, vegetable, or cheese to them, totally changing the composition.

Watch Those Expiry Dates

Check expiry dates frequently. Use the FIFO system (First In First Out). Make sure that you're eating your oldest eggs first, not the ones you just bought (even though you weren't out of the old ones first!). Rotate your food and put the food that needs to be eaten up first in plain sight.

Cleaning your fridge regularly is a great way to find stuff you didn't know you had. Quickly clean it once a week when you go grocery shopping and you'll find less will slip through the cracks. 

Food Isn't That Expensive, I Can Afford To Throw A Little Out

The Value Chain Management study said that a lot of the waste came from people's attitudes about food, citing that it wasn't that expensive. In fact, groceries are very expensive in Canada. According to Numbeo, the average Canadian would need to spend $312.90 a month to sustain themselves. This makes it the 12th most expensive country in the world for groceries in 2012. Countries where groceries cost less include: Australia, UK, France, Hong Kong, the USA, and Italy to name a few. Bet you thought that it would be much more expensive to buy groceries in Europe – it’s actually not. We as Canadians pay a lot of money for groceries, so why would we waste good money and good food?

What Do We Waste?

According to a 2009 Statistics Canada study the bulk of food wasted by retailers and consumers are fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. 122 kg per capita to be exact. This is followed by 18 kg of oils, fats, sugars and syrups; 16 kg of red meats; 10 kg of poultry; and 6 kg of dairy products. 

How Can I Stop Waste?

Plan your meals. Know how much you're going to eat every day and put everything else you can in the freezer. I prepare most of my meals for the week on Sunday night. The meals are divided into serving portions and frozen to be thawed on the day I eat them. This is great because plans change, so keeping most of your food in the freezer means that if you decide not to eat one of your pre-made meals, it won't go bad.

Don't buy stuff that is already spoiling unless you're going to eat it that day. My grocery store offers food that will be expiring that day or the next for 50% off, its tempting to buy lots, but there is a reason they're selling it cheap.

Shop with a list and only buy what you need. Very simple, but it works.

Finally, here’s something I found on Pintrest that I really like - 27 ways to make your groceries last as long as possible. Check it out, it has a lot of great advice relating to fresh produce in particular.

I know its hard to use everything you buy and make and sometimes things slip through the cracks. But once you start making a conscious effort to stop throwing food out, you'll find you're buying less and saving more. Now that I'm sure you can all go for.