Four Effective Ways to Save Food!

If you give it a thought, you will notice that everything we do, from the hours at work to save up in the bank, boils down to one basic need – having some food on your plate. Rich or poor, that’s where it all narrows down too. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs highlights this too. It emphasizes the need to fulfill basic physiological needs like air, water, food, and sleep for a person to focus on other needs. He says that a hungry person might not focus on self-actualization, self-esteem, love, or safety.

However, there are over 820 million people globally who go hungry every day. Isn’t it sad that so many people cannot get a stomach’s full? Countries worldwide are working with the World Health Organization to ensure the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. If you think the shortage of food and the lack of sufficient production is why people stay hungry, you are wrong. The current global food production is 1.5 times more than the global population and is sufficient to feed over 10 billion people, while our population stands at 7.5 billion.

And did you know that small actions from you could contribute to this? Yes, every person can make a difference. Don’t believe us? According to recent research, every year, around 1.3 billion tonnes of food goes to waste. Everyone is guilty of wasting food more often than we realize. Try these tips to avoid food wastage. You can save the world and prevent someone from going to sleep with an empty stomach.

 Do not throw away food.

Well, this might look like the obvious step to avoid wastage and hence redundant. But, there’s a reason why we included it to the list here. While it may seem obvious, it is also a crucial step to save food. For instance, you can increase the shelf life of your groceries by preserving them the right way. Similarly, the greens you buy might wilt or turn soft after their prime.

Rather than throwing them away, you could make a dry powder of them or add them to soups and broths. Do not go blindly by the expiry date, meaning, if a food has a best before date as the day before you’re planning on consuming it, and it still looks fine, it probably is.

So, trust what you see and your instincts over just the date. The FDA suggests that over 20% of the food wastage results from confusion over the expiry dates. That’s because people do not understand that it is an indicator of how fresh the food is and not if it is edible. However, this does not mean you can continue eating food that expired over a month or two ago, which might be harmful.

Plan Your Meals

Every weekend, make it a routine to plan your meals for the week ahead. Shop accordingly, and make sure only cook as much as you need. This way, you would reduce waste on numerous levels. Planning your meals helps you plan your shopping too. That way, you would not end up hoarding your refrigerator with food that nobody will consume. Another way to reduce food wastage while you shop is to take a few trips to the store and buy things as you need them, rather than buying supplies for a whole month or two.

Customize your meals, even while eating out

Yes, you could do this, and it avoids a lot of waste. We are not just talking about buffets where you can avoid taking foods and portions you cannot finish. Even while you’re dining at a restaurant and order a meal, check if it has ingredients or sides that you would rather not consume. You can ask them to remove those elements from your meal. Even a sprig of greens can make a mighty difference to the global food supply.

Pack Your Lunch

Packing your lunch to work or school will not just save you money and protect your health, but it is good for the planet too. You can eat healthy homemade food at all times, by preparing a little extra food at dinner time and packing it for lunch the next day. This would save you ample time and make sure you do not throw away the leftovers.

We hope these tips help you save food. However, these changes cannot happen overnight. But if you do your bit and take the time to educate those around you as well, we can hope for a world where nobody is starving.