Fight Food Waste During Food Waste Prevention Week—and All Year Long

Fighting food waste is critical to fighting hunger. Learn more during Food Waste Prevention Week, April 1-7.

Preventing food waste is an essential piece of fighting hunger.

That’s part of what the organizers of Food Waste Prevention Week want Americans — including North Texans — to understand as they’re grocery shopping, meal planning and eating out. In 2022, the most recent data available, Texas had around 5.7 million tons of food waste, more than half of which came from residential households.

Grocery stores accounted for just 6% of that total and farms 5%, in part, because of programs that allow food banks like the North Texas Food Bank to “rescue” surplus produce and food. In Fiscal Year 2023, NTFB was able to provide access to about 34 million meals through its food rescue program with local retailers like Kroger, Albertsons/Tom Thumb, H-E-B, Walmart and others.

So, how can you reduce your own waste footprint? Food Waste Prevention Week and Feeding Texas offer a few tips:

Keep your produce fresh by being mindful of how it’s stored.

Apples can last up to eight weeks in the fridge while avocados ripen best on the counter and then can be saved in the fridge. Broccoli is best stored cold with some water and air circulation while strawberries and citrus belong in the fridge but should remain dry to help them last longer.

Meal plan.

Make a plan for what you’ll eat each week and keep in mind the amount that you’ll need to feed your household. When shopping, stick to the list for your plan and don’t buy excessive amounts of ingredients.

Designate one night a week for leftovers.

Ensure that extra bowl of spaghetti and veggies get eaten by keeping one night a week open for leftover consumption. Leftovers are also a great option for lunch.

Designate an “eat now” section in your fridge.

Don’t let fruits, veggies and other foods get lost at the back of your fridge. By putting them in plain sight, you’re more likely to eat them before they need to be thrown away. You can also rely on your senses to determine whether something is still good, rather than looking only at the “best by” date.

Why does it matter? Along with leaving unneeded food at grocery stores where it can be sold or rescued by food banks, preventing food waste is good for the environment. Wasting less food is the No. 1 thing individuals can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also saves money as Americans collectively lose more than $218 billion to food waste annually, according to Food Waste Prevention Week.

Food Waste Prevention Week started in California in 2020, expanded to Florida in 2021 and last year was celebrated in 48 states. Find out more here.