I have a confession to make. I rarely finish all the food on my plate unless I serve myself and even then I am prone to leave a few bits on the plate. My dad used to call my sister and I "aristocrats" because when he grew up food was scarce. Luckily, where I have lived over the past 22 years has had municipal composting. I didn't have to feel guilty about the remnants on my plate. It was a way for me to show restraint in the amount I ate. It gave me a peace of mind to not wipe the plate clean.
When I was a kid, I would have to sit at the dinner table for hours. My sister would often doze off, her face landing in the plate. My strategy involved concocting clever ways to conceal the food: hiding it in my napkin, pushing it to the farthest corners of the plate, flushing it down the toilet. When we got to the dinner table, we had passed our hunger point. It was often 8pm when my dad arrived home from work on a weekday. Dinner had been sitting there for over an hour and our bodies were ready to sleep not eat.
Food isn't plentiful for everyone. In my experience in the food industry for the last twenty years, it is a distribution, manufacturing process and awareness issue. Food deserts have been carved out of the American landscape where access to fresh nutritious food remains difficult.
Visiting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History with my son two years ago, I came across what I thought to be a prescription for the daily American diet from around the 30s. I agreed with all the tenants scratching my head wondering when and why did we go so wrong. If we had continued to follow these guidelines, America would be healthier - the land and its people.
Permissions by Perkins School, Hayes Research Library
Then, I researched the provenance of the poster. Created in 1917 at the height of the American involvement in World War I, it instructed the American household to ration. Due to scarce meat and wheat, the troops needed the bread and meat for sustenance. The men fighting tended the fields and the animals so, overall yield was lower.
Today, it’s a war on food waste. According to the USDA, the United States wastes 30% to 40% of its food supply. The largest component in landfills, food waste then produces methane gas which is the second largest greenhouse gas contributor to climate change.
In our own home, I prefer to have a plan for every food item we buy. I find it most difficult when I go into the grocery store or farmers’ market hungry. I focus our grocery store shopping on the perimeter where the produce, dairy and meat counters reside. The intention to use all works but, there is still the occasional kale bundle, cauliflower head or turnip bunch that goes into the compost. I also have too many veggie pickles in the fridge because as my husband likes to say, “they never go bad.” I've tried to inform them they can. He is resistant.
My family doesn’t snack, instead we have chocoholics. In fact, we have a whole drawer dedicated to the good for you treat which requires a monthly clean out and inventory of what chocolate bars need to be eaten before more are purchased.
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/
If we adapt the guidelines of the WWI food poster today, we would have a healthier planet and people with less Americans going hungry. According to the Economic Research Service of the USDA, 13.69 million households are affected by food insecurity or a lack of access to healthy foods to sustain them. Most of those households have children.
Eating less processed foods, smaller portions of meat and lots more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables is the key to reducing waste on the plate and in the garbage. It also turns out if livestock are fed more nutritionally efficient diets, it helps reduce their waste as well. If humans and livestock eat more nutritious foods, they get the nutrition they need from less instead of having to eat more to get them. Our bodies use it instead of wasting it.
Some simple every day tips
Going to a coffee shop, bring your own mug.
Know your going to have leftovers from a meal out, bring your own take away container.
Conversely, if you know you are not going to eat the leftovers, save the take away container and have the food go into the restaurant compost.
Enjoy meals out family style.
Before grocery shopping, plan your meals.
Buy in bulk with your own bags from home. I put reusable produce or kraft sacks to use in our reusable grocery bogs.
Community Fridge Movement
To divert your food waste from the compost or trash bin, consider taking it to a community fridge. These fridges tend to be set up in food insecure places or food deserts. You can take unexpired produce and/or unopened food to these sites and others in need can help themselves to it 24/7.
When we turnover the AirBNB on our property, I amass the pantry and fridge items the guest has left behind and take them to the community fridge across the river. I sometimes go through the garbage if it looks too full as it surprising how many people throw out full unopened containers of food. Here are a few community fridge organizations to see if there is one in you neighborhood.
Freedge - global network, Give, Take, Share
What’s the American Government doing About Food Waste?
The USDA and EPA have banded together to reduce food waste by 50% by the year 2030. Ask an organization to become a Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champion.
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