Now is a good time to think about food waste

[Huma0]

As the supermarket shelves empty due to panic stockpiling, now is not a bad time to think about how you buy, use and dispose of food. In the current circumstances, buying what you don't need/more than you need may be depriving someone else who does actually need it. My mother, for example, could not find bread nor eggs, forcing her to repeatedly venture to the supermarkets in search of them, putting herself at risk (she is elderly and has a heart condition, so is in the top 1% of people at risk of dying from COVID-19).

The people who can help her with her shopping either do not have the transport to do so or, by the time they finish work and can go to the shops, the shelves are empty. Online delivery is not an option as all the slots here have been booked into next month by people stockpiling. She is not the worst off. She is still mobile. Some people are not. Some people have even more serious conditions that put them at even more risk. Many supermarkets here in the UK have started rationing certain products and/or introducing shopping slots for the elderly and disabled, but still the shelves are empty of certain necessities.

Please people, stop stockpiling and have a thought for others!

In addition, did you know that around one third of the food produced around the world goes to waste? Did you know that this waste accounts for something like 8-10% of the world's greenhouse gases, so is seriously damaging our environment and our future?

Apart from buying less, I have a few suggestions:

- Keep an eye on what you have in your fridge and kitchen and try to use it before it goes off. There are eco friendly devices that can help keep vegetables etc. fresher for longer and there are Apps that help you to plan recipes around what you already have.

- For those of you in areas where supermarkets, local convenience stores, restaurants, cafes, bakeries etc. etc. are still operating, there may be Apps that allow you to buy unsold food that is still fresh, but would otherwise be thrown away, at discounted prices. You save money, you help to save the environment, and you might just be helping to save businesses that are really struggling to survive right now. It is better for them to get something, rather than nothing, for unsold food. Apps in the UK (might be available elsewhere, I'm not sure), include Karma and Too Good to Go.

- Go through your freezer and larder. Is there stuff lurking in there that you could use for your next meal? Get creative with recipes so you don't automatically have to go and buy more food. Think about what you could donate to a food bank or similar charity. There are also Apps where you can give unwanted food to your neighbours.

- Talking of the freezer, it's very easy to freeze bread, fruit and all sorts of things before they go off so they can be consumed later. Do be mindful though of food safety and don't refreeze stuff that it's not safe to do.

- If you have time on your hands, which many of us do, or are looking for ways to keep young ones occupied, think about using some of your foodstuffs to make jams, chutneys etc. Over ripe bananas are perfect for making banana cake/bread and I recently made up a few jars of chutney from courgettes and tomatoes I knew I wouldn't get through. If you put them in nice jars and label them, these can make great homemade gifts. 

- Is bread scarce at your supermarket? Think about baking your own, especially if you have that "unwanted gift" of a breadmaker sitting around. I bet if you baked it yourself, you would be more reluctant to throw it away!

- Inevitably, you will have some scraps to throw away, such as peelings, egg shells, used tea bags and coffee grounds. If your local council has a food waste collection scheme, please use it. If you have a garden, try composting (could save you money too, as well as reducing the environmentally damaging peat based compost you might be buying). 

I am slowing working through my cupboards and freezer. I am actually astounded by how often I think, "I have nothing to eat.. better pop to the shops," when actually I have lots of food. Previous guests leave so much behind. Don't throw it away! Think of how you might use it, or give it to someone who will.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

Yes, a lot of Apps won't work on an old phone. My last iPhone was ancient and I couldn't download or update most things by the end, including the Airbnb App. Since I got a new phone, no problems, although the App store automatically downloaded on the phone doesn't always show all the Apps, even some of the biggest ones. You have to search online...

[Huma0]

@Jody79  are you unable to find the App in whatever App store you are using on your phone? Sometimes I find that not everything shows up in certain App stores. I found Too Good To Go easily on the google play store. If that doesn't work, or you don't use that store, just search for it on a browser on your phone, open the website and there should be a link to download the App. If that still doesn't work, it might not be available in your area, unfortunately. 

Has anyone else in the US tried it? It might just be a UK site.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

I had a look at the other company mentioned in the article. It's called Ortaggi. Unfortunately, I am just outside of their catchment area. Also, they are out of stock of the two person bundle and the larger bundles (4-5  or 5+ people) are way more than I need. However, it might be of interest for larger families/households.

Basically, they put together a household bundle of bread, milk, butter, eggs and fruit and veg (so no fish or meat) based on a week's worth of groceries, at £30 for a two person household (currently sold out), £45 for 4-5 people and £60 for 5+ people. You can see a list of the type of items that would be included (some are guaranteed and some, like the fruit and veg, will vary depending on what they have in stock).

I think it's proved to be quite popular so far as, not only is the two-person bundle sold out, there is a five day delivery time due to high orders. 

[Huma0]

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering about the catchment area, it's roughly a five mile radius around Beckenham and they also deliver to parts of West London.

[Mark116]

@Huma0  Too bad!  For some reason I can't get to the Too Good to Go app, it shows in the apple store on the laptop but on the iphone, it isn't there.  Weird.  They may not be too up and running in NYC area, but maybe, hopefully these apps will keep going and grow after the crisis passes.  it is obscene that the US wastes 40% of its food.  Truly obscene. 

But then I am old school, that grandmother again, ....when the vegetables get wilty they go in soup or base for stew.  Of course sometimes things do go bad that get lost in the fridge, but I would guess we are better than about 80% of our neighbors.  Old bread goes to the birds.  Some old fruit also goes to the birds if it is too far gone for the smoothies or made into a dessert sauce. It isn't that hard not to waste food if you only pay a little attention and don't demand that you will only eat what is food photo perfect.  

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  "and don't demand that you will only eat what is food photo perfect. "

So true. When my kids were teenagers and I was set to go shopping, I'd ask if there was anything they wanted me to add to the shopping list. They'd say something like, "Yeah apples." I'd point out that were half a dozen apples in the fruit bowl that they hadn't touched for several days. Then they'd tell me that was because there were bruises on them. But the bruises came from them pressing their thumbs into the apples to check if they were "crispy enough".

I told them to cut the bruised part out and that I'd buy more apples when the ones I'd already spent money on were consumed.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

Like you, I'm not too fussed about photo perfect looking food and, even with expiry dates, I use my own judgement RE whether the item is still good to use or not.

However, for ages now, one of my local supermarkets has been advertising a food waste scheme where they sell a large box of fruit and veg that's slightly past its best for £1.50 (as I mentioned before). It's supposed to be available in every store, but I had never seen it.

A few weeks ago, I saw the boxes for the first and only time. I was determined to buy one, but after a lot of deliberation, I just put it back. The stuff was not slightly past its best. It really was ready for the compost bin and I know I would not have used it. I left it for someone who might.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

I'm guessing Too Good To Go is maybe a UK only site. I wonder if there is something similar in your area?

I totally agree with you. It is  not that difficult to cut down most of your food waste, even if it's not possible to cut down all of it, and 40% is truly shocking.

[Sally221]

 We did farm share boxes back when I was teaching full time. You would sign up for weekly or bi-weekly boxes of what ever the farm had to offer that was being harvested at that time-always fresh & organic.  It's  a year round growing season in California which isn't as true elsewhere but I wonder if there's anything like that in your area?   We didn't  get tomatoes in December but there were always the loveliest greens & root vegs  I darkly suspect that the 3rd party ordering platforms  will be tempted to take advantage of all parties, it happens elsewhere, right? Dealing directly with the farmers was a big part of why I signed up.

My cats are not going downstairs in spite of their airy assumptions to the contrary. It's a space I can share with the allergic in my own family when we aren't sheltering in place anymore and my cats have the run of the garden in daylight so they have no grounds to complain.

My cats hate to embarrassed in front of each other so I have found

histrionic scolding to be  pretty effective. (it's part of the reason they stay off of counters & tables, the other cat would snicker and say "catty" things)

[Huma0]

@Sally221  there have been similar services here for a while but, as you say, there's a third party involved. They are very expensive and have always been out of my budget. Buying direct from the farmers would be great. I don't know yet of any options where you can do that in London, but who knows what is out there?

My cats have the run of the house that I share with guests, except the guest bedrooms, where it is up to the individual guest if they are allowed in or not. I strongly discourage allergic guests from booking, but sometimes they just do and tell me after they arrive. Others say they like cats, are sure they will cope with it as long as the cats don't go in their rooms and seem to do just fine.

My last guest (one of three that left early due to COVID-19 related issues) was here for nearly five months. She wrote in the guest book that my cats seemed to have cured her allergy. That was very sweet 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  When I lived in coastal British Columbia, where it rains a lot, seldom gets really hot and my compost bin was in the shade, it did take much longer for the compost to break down. As Sally said, you do need nitrogen-rich material in there, so green yard and garden clippings, grass clippings, etc. If you've ever raked up a pile of freshly mown grass and leave it sitting there for awhile and stick your hand under it, you'll find it gets really hot as it decomposes. But I can imagine that a lot of that kind of material might be not in abundance in London, like it is where we have large yards and plants that constantly need trimming. And this might sound weird, but urine is a super nitrogen source. I had friends in Canada who had the most monstrously huge vegggies in their garden I'd ever seen. They peed in a pail and watered the plants with it.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977  yes, perhaps it needs more green matter, not just the food waste and carbon rich cardboard type stuff. Unfortunately you are right RE London. I don't have a patch of grass here. I tried to grow a few ornamental ones in the flowerbeds, but one of my cats ate them all  😞

Okay, I agree with waste not, want not, but I am not sure I am ready to pee in pail. You never know though. Times are a changing!

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Huma0 @Sarah977 @Sally221 @Mark116 @Jody79 the Too Good to Go app is ok. You have to be very quick off the mark but I got a massive box of veg from Morrisons supermarket for about 10% of the retail price.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Helen0 

That is good to know. Unfortunately, I don't have a Morrisons near by. I do have Lidl, Tesco, Sainsbury's etc. but I am not sure any of them use this App? Hopefully they will start to.

Some months back, Lidl advertised that they had started a scheme where they sold a box of fruit and veg that was slightly past its best cheaply to customers in order to reduce waste. I have never seen it in my local Lidl unfortunately. Perhaps I will ask them about it next time I need to go there but, right now, the shelves in there are always empty anyway. They seem to be the only supermarket not rationing, unless I have missed something in the news about it. My mother has two Lidls near her and they are empty too.

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Huma0 The veg boxes in Lidl are £1.50 and pretty good if you deal with the contents as soon as you get them home e.g. slice and freeze lemons, make soup et.c

They are normally gone by 12 and it depends on staff having time to make them up.