🍃‌[FESTIVAL] Combating food waste 🍃‌

[Rebecca]

Today, Wednesday 24 April 2024, is the largest single day of action in the fight against global food waste - Stop Food Waste Day. 🍎

It's a big deal nowadays, with everyone from individuals to governments trying to figure out how to tackle it. It’s not only a social or humanitarian concern, it’s an environmental one too. Recently, in my search to live more sustainably and reduce mine and my family’s impact on the planet, I’ve been diving into how we can make positive changes to the way we eat, and our food wastage.

A large portion of food produced globally goes to waste and the food waste that ends up in a landfill can contribute to issues for our planet. When these high quantities of food items degrade naturally over time, it contributes heavily to global warming and the erosion of the ozone layer due to the amount of methane gas it produces as it breaks down. We could make a significant reduction to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions if we stop wasting food. 

  

In our home, we have made small changes over the past couple of years to minimise our food waste. We have educated ourselves to fully understand what a ‘best before date’ and a ‘use by’ date is, we make a conscious effort to choose the ‘wonky’ or discounted fruit and veg at the supermarket (fruit doesn’t last long in our house!), we even checked our fridge freezer and storage cupboards to ensure that our groceries are stored correctly - prolonging their shelf life. We also grow some of our own fruits and vegetables, and in the future, we intend to make a home composting space -  I would love to have a wormery, it’s on my wish list! 

As well as these small mindful acts, I also recently started to volunteer as a Food Waste Hero. Part of my role is to rescue this waste food from supermarkets, canteens, restaurants, takeaways and other food establishments, and share them with my local community, friends and family via an app, for free. Not only has it been wonderful to know that I’m doing my bit for the environment, but the biggest reward is supporting people in my local community who have very little. Anything that doesn’t get collected, goes to a local church, who uses the ingredients in the volunteer-led community kitchen, which is open to anyone, at any time, with no questions asked. It’s really rewarding to be a part of this ‘circle of food’. Take these over ripe bananas otherwise set to head to landfill...baked with love into delicious banana bread breakfast muffins... they didn't last long!

     

My personal contribution is calculated and shared with me every month and this was last month's update: 

💚 125 collected items listed

💚 89 collection items shared

💚 17 people shared with

💚 45kg worth of food shared

💚 86kg of CO2 saved

💚 Equal to 293 car miles saved

💚 Equal to 14934 litres of water saved

There are so many ways we can make a positive difference in our world, and being mindful of our food waste is just one piece of the puzzle. Have you thought about what you can do, or are already doing, to cut down on wasted food? Whether you’re just starting out or already making strides, I’d love to hear your experiences. And if you have any questions or suggestions on how we can do even better, please share them too! 

[Melissa1248]

I have placed a composter outside of my airbnb cottages for guests to use. I also supply recycle bins and notices to recycle where possible. We all need to do our part.

[Rebecca]

This is fantastic @Melissa1248 😍 As you say, we all need to do our part and composting food waste is all part of that circle. It goes back into the ground, to feed the worms and in turn the birds, and then in another turn - us! 

Do you find the guests use the composter instead of putting things in the general waste? 

[Melissa1248]

Guests these days don't seem to care as much about recycling. I leave two bins in the front breezeway where they enter with a recycling logo but end up sorting the garbage myself as we use clear garbage bags and the garbagemen wont pickup if there is recyclables in the bag.

[Laurelle3]

@Rebecca It is interesting to read about your newfound interest. As I always say, Sharing is Caring  words passed from a nursing colleague and have used and promoted for many years.

I love the figures you have documented on saving with food, the number of people and the environment.

It reminded me of what I have been doing for many years by making a soup called Gash Bag Soup a term used by my husband in his past Navy days.

How it is made is by using the old vegetables from last week or fortnight shopping. adding new or leftover meat and chicken. Vegetable stock saved from evening vegetables and frozen. Herbs, spices and sauces for flavouring. Often it can be Minestrone Soup with beans added, or Country Vegetable Soup. Or an Asian style with chicken, cabbage and noodles added. I add Curry to give it flavour to all of my soups as I consider it a base flavouring along with a bit of salt.

my other joy is cooking and sharing cakes and biscuits with our neighbours. As there is only 2 of us, we keep enough for now and tomorrow and it means i am not wasting food. 

[Rebecca]

The soup sounds amazing @Laurelle3 and I must make more of it! I love soup with a piece of fresh bread from the bakery! 

Thank you so much for sharing your efforts and recipes with us. What's your favourite thing to bake? 😍 

[Laurelle3]

@Rebecca at the moment it is Gluten free cakes and slices

A favourite is orange cake made with almond meal.

Biscuit is egg white, sugar. almond meal and almond slices. 

Rolled in almonds fattened and baked in a low temperature slow oven.

[Rebecca]

Orange cake sounds amazing - I'm a big lover of a nice sponge with fruit! We make marmalade cake with any extra oranges we get from my food collections. 

How do you find cooking with gluten based flour alternatives? I heard it's quite tricky to perfect? 

[Helen427]

@Rebecca, Birds also love bananas and we all need to stop and pause about our animals and Nuture with Nature - you may have come across our previous topic on that subject.

Bananas are great included in smoothies if one has access to a blender, can easily be frozen, made into Granita, Ice-blocks, and Ice cream divine on toast and as you know in home made baking.

Have you ever tried slicing bananas and oranges or citrus fruit and leaving them overnight to absorb the flavours and eat it for breakfast?

Super delightful way to start the day.

As an aside, New Zealand exported the boxes for Ecuador bananas many years ago - I found that fun historical connection when hosting a Guest who had spent time living in Ecuador. 

@Melissa1248 @Laurelle3