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Food Waste: Where it comes from and how to cut down

by Nina Budabin McQuown · January 9th, 2009

Blogger Jonathan Bloom of wastedfood.com spoke on NPR on Yesterday. He talked about the amount of food American families waste every week, the lack of research in this area, and how to cut down on waste. You can listen to the segment, which aired on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate show, below.

One of the comments on the site mentioned saving bones from meaty restaurant meals to make soup stock. I think it’s a great idea. I save every bone and veggie skin for stock at home…why not use my doggy-bags more wisely? The roti shop around the corner, for example, serves curry goat full of deliciously flavored bones, and right about now I’m wishing I’d thought of this myself…I’d have a nice curried goat stock right about now. If anyone out there has other radical ideas for cutting down on waste, put ‘em up!

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4 Responses to “Food Waste: Where it comes from and how to cut down”

Judith Says:
January 10th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Regarding radically cutting down on waste – I compost my old cotton clothes (the ones that are too worn-out for the Goodwill) instead of sending them to the landfill. I first cut out the parts (zippers, buttons, elastic) that are not biodegradable. I do use some as rags for cleaning but then they too are eventually composted.
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster Says:
January 10th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I am an avid reader of Jonathan’s blog and it has really gotten me thinking about food waste. I was actually sorry to see food waste not addressed by the conference, both in terms of presentations and at meals. Some tips of mine:
*My freezer is a big help. I save leftover challah (for either french toast or bread crumbs), poultry skin (for schmaltz), and bones (for stock). I also freeze leftovers, but in lunch size portions, so that we always have something to grab in the AM.
*Unless it is absolutely essential, I have stopped peeling potatoes, carrots, etc. Usually, we peel things for cosmetic reasons. Cuts back on waste and makes cooking faster.
*You can also save cheese rinds in the same way you save bones. Great for vegetarian soups.
*Use Pesach to cut down on waste! Sometimes food gets wasted because it expires. Right about this time of year, stop buying pantry staples and condiments unless you absolutely need them, and cook with an eye to using up what you have.
These aren’t radical but they are a big help!
Rabbi Shmuel Says:
January 12th, 2009 at 8:17 am
The real secret to eliminating (or at least minimizing)waste is to nip it in the bud. We had over 200 people at Shlomo’s bar mitzva and generated less than one garbage bag of garbage and virtually no waste. How? We planned it that way and communicated our wishes to our guests who respected them. Here is the poem I wrote which was reprinted on large colorful signs and mounted in several places on the buffet table:

“Boruch Hashem, there’s plenty of food,
To heighten the simcha and lighten the mood,
Have seconds and thirdzees – hey- knock yourself out!
As long as you eat it and don’t throw it out.
So before filling your plate, please take a small taste
To maximize pleasure and minimize waste!”

Worked like a charm:) Plus between the dogs, the chickens and the stockpot which perpetually sits on the woodstove, there’s never anything to be considered “waste”
It’s a mindset actually – when we lived on the farm full-time, we had to bring our solid garbage down to the transfer station. We used to call it the “swapmeet” because the odds wqere that we’d come back with more than we went with:)
Jo Says:
January 12th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Another possibility for using Pesach to cut down on waste: we make a big donation of canned goods to our local food bank as part of our chametz clean-out.