Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fru-Gal Tip: Know (and Eat) What Food You Have.


Fru-Gal Tip: Know (and eat) what food you have.

According to GFA's Forgotten Christmas site, "40% of all food produced in America is not eaten. That is 29 million tons of edible food wasted each year."

One way to help reduce food waste in your own refrigerator and also help your budget is to know and eat what food you have. We have all likely experienced the "what is that?" phenomenon of finding forgotten food in the back of the refrigerator many days, weeks, even months after it first entered the fridge. It's not only gross to clean out, but it's a waste of money and once-edible food. 

If you were to look in our own fridge, it probably would seem pretty bare compared to the average American's fridge, but I know what is in there and what needs to be used up soon. I will stockpile within reason if an item we can use goes on sale for its rock-bottom price, but for the most part, I shop small each week and make a concerted effort to consume what I buy.

Do you have any tips on preventing food waste? I would love to hear your ideas!

2 comments:

  1. We definitely shop small most weeks too, Kelly! When we needed a new fridge, we did buy it new, but got a floor model with a dent for a good price, but it's much larger than what 2 people would need. With 1 baby on the way at the time, and who knows how many kids by the time the fridge kicks the bucket, we were planning ahead with the extra room. But, it's inefficient with the energy that cools your food to have too empty of a fridge. We took empty juice jugs and filled them with tap water- whenever we have too much empty space, we pop some in. That way, all the cold air doesn't rush out each time you open the fridge- the bottles of water get cool and keep some of the cold air in the fridge cooling off your food and thus saving money on your electric bill :) And, if you line water jugs up in the back, it pushes the other food forward, and you might be more likely to see it! Just don't pack your fridge too full either- the air needs a bit of room to circulate!

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  2. I would have never thought about the inefficiency of an empty fridge! Thanks, Loni! We have a big fridge, too... we bought it off of Craigslist as it came with matching microwave and stove, but the fridge is really too big for our frugal family of 3. Good idea with the water bottles.

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