Top food waste tips from OzHarvest
Missed the OzHarvest Fight Food Waste sessions? Here are the top tips from OzHarvest food waste fighter Michele Lipner.
What you missed
During the sessions, which were supported by Sunshine Coast Council’s Living Smart Program, participants discovered:
- meal planning tips
- fridge storage ideas
- creative recipes for leftovers
- the impact of food waste on the environment
- how to change the amount of perishables going to landfill
- about food insecurity and how to help feed people in need.
Take away
The single most impactful behaviour we can make in our own homes is to reduce our food waste. We can be part of the solution. What you do in YOUR HOME can make a MAJOR difference.
Fact
Australia is the 10th most wasteful country in the world in relation to food waste. We waste, on average, 300 kg of food per person per year.
Food waste (7.6 million tonnes of it) cost the economy $36.6 billion each year. 3.1 million tonnes of that is estimated to come from households.
Food waste accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gases.
Good news
YOU CAN create a zero-food waste household – for example:
Use 100% of a celery bunch and avoid putting any ‘scraps’ in the bin? Use the stalks for any stir fry, stew, soup. Freeze ‘the scraps’ to use later for stock. Store unused stalks in the crisper with either paper towel or a tea towel. And best of all – regrow your own by cutting off the base, putting in water until roots form then plant.
Buy what you need and eat what you buy.
- Buy local – the food is fresher, has less food miles and will generally last longer than store bought food.
- Buy unpackaged food – not only are you more likely to buy what you need, but you avoid putting the packaging into landfill.
- Be creative and think out of the box when it comes to cooking – make bagged lettuce soup – a delicious meal hot or cold! Make pesto with bagged lettuce, spinach, broccoli – or so many other greens. And instead of pine nuts, use walnuts.
- If you are not sure, go online to see how to best store your food rather than letting it go off.
if all else fails, compost (but try to use it up first)
Michele Lipner is the founder of the OzHarvest Sunshine Coast and Gympie chapter. She's also the Sunshine Coast Citizen of the Year.