8 hacks to avoid food waste

Understanding food waste

What we can do to fight food waste

• 8 simple hacks to fight food waste from your home
• Your foodprint calculator

Understanding food waste

Food waste is one of the biggest problems in our society today, but it’s also very often underrated. How many times do we throw away food without even thinking about it? How many times do we choose one vegetable over another just because it looks better? It’s small actions like these that combined make food waste the issue it is today.

Let’s start with some definitions to paint the context. The term food waste refers specifically to food that is fit for consumption but consciously discarded at the retail or consumption phases, while with food loss we indicate the food that is lost before even reaching the consumer.

It’s really easy to forget how much food we waste, but looking at the numbers can help us better grasp the magnitude of the problem. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), 45% of all fruits and vegetables are wasted every year. This concerns also other food groups: 30% of cereals, 35% of fish, 20% of meat and of dairy products. This means that almost one third of each food group is wasted.

The consequences of food waste are not limited to food, but also extend to the environment and the economy. There are some estimates from the UNEP Food Waste Index 2021 which suggest that 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is wasted.

What can we do to fight food waste

According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, it is estimated that of the almost 931 million tonnes of food wasted in 2019, 61% came from households, 26% from food service and 13% from retail.

Even if the food we waste in our homes is a lot, the positive thing is that by making simple and healthier choices in our daily life we can make a huge difference! 

Here we combined our best tips you can adopt today to fight food waste with us.

8 simple hacks to fight food waste from your home

1. Learn how to meal plan 

One of the most common mistakes we can make is going grocery shopping without a plan and just buying what we find tasty at the store. And when we shop while hungry, we buy even more unnecessary food which can go to waste. Fixing this is very easy: just write down all the meals you and your family are going to be eating for that week. In this way, you can make a list of all the ingredients needed to make those meals, check what you already have at home, and go to the store to buy only what is missing and what you’re going to eat. Another great advantage of doing this, is that you can also plan for leftovers and find new ways to use the same ingredient in different recipes!

2. Check expiration dates

It’s very easy to take out all the food from your grocery bag and just place all the items wherever there’s a bit of space in the refrigerator. By doing this some foods might end up in the back and you forget about them, and other foods might expire sooner because they are not stored in the proper way. Remember to check expiration dates so you can eat the food that’s about to go bad first. Bringing them to the front is a simple way to make sure you can see them every time you open the fridge.

3. Freeze your leftovers

Whether you’re batch-cooking, miscalculated portions or you’re just not hungry anymore, it’s very common to have some leftover food. The best suggestion in this case is to freeze your leftovers so they’ll be preserved for longer, and you’ll have a meal ready for your future self who might be too tired to cook or for unexpected guests.

4. Learn how to properly store your fresh food

Every food item has its place inside the refrigerator. Meat and fish should be kept in the coldest points (that’s usually on the bottom shelf), dairy products in the middle shelf, fruits and vegetables in their designated crisper drawer. By storing each item in its optimal position, you can make sure that your fridge will preserve its freshness for longer.

5. Repurpose scraps

Some recipes don’t require to use all parts of fruits and vegetables, so it can happen that some parts are neglected. But there’s so many things you can do with food scraps! One great example is to use vegetable trimmings to make a delicious homemade vegetable stock or use leftover fruits to make a fresh and tasty smoothie. You can also make a refreshing infused water! There’s also ways to use the scraps outside of the kitchen: use citrus peels to make your house smell super fresh or make a DIY body scrub with coffee grounds.

6. Compost

Another way to repurpose scraps or unusable parts is to compost them instead of throwing them out, or see if your city has a composting program you can contribute to. In this case, when food starts rotting it creates a nutrient rich compost that is a natural fertilizer: it nurtures soil and helps your plants grow. According to FAO, home composting can potentially divert up to 150 kg of food waste per household every year from local collection authorities!

7. Have fun with your leftovers

A more original and fun idea could be to organize a small gathering or dinner with your friends and family that is all made up with that week’s leftovers. If everyone brings their own leftovers, you can create a diverse and unique meal to enjoy in great company! You’ll also get to discover new recipes and learn more about food waste.

8. Shelfy

We saved the best for last. Shelfy, our smart device for your refrigerator, is the perfect solution to fight food waste. It extends the shelf life of your fresh food, delaying the appearance of wilting and rotting. But it does so much more than that: in just 10 minutes, Shelfy can kill up to 97.5% of bacteria in the air. It also helps reduce up to 80% of fish, cheese and other lingering odors that alter the taste of your food. And by connecting it to the Vitesy Hub app, you can monitor your fridge openings and the temperature to make sure your refrigerator is working at its best conditions.

You can still get it on Indiegogo for a super discounted price, but not for long! Hurry up to get the final pieces with the special discount.