Plan meals Planning meals can be time consuming at first, but will save time every day and on the long run, you might become a pro. Friends with similar family set up might have good ideas to share.
Take a shelfie
Take a shelfie or make a shopping list! It helps avoid overbuying. Overbuying accounts for a big chunk of our food waste.
Keep a note pad (make your note pad by using the other side of used paper!) and a pen in your cupboard, and write down ingredients when they run out, or what you need for a specific meal.
To avoid duplicating what you already have, take a picture of your cupboard before leaving for the shops, a “shelfie”.
Calculate the right portion
Use this tool for guidance on how much you need per person.
Buy local, seasonal and odd
Buying locally means less waste occurs between the farmer and the retailer. Food is fresher when it arrives in your house and will last longer.
Buying seasonal also help reduce the energy used to store or transport food. When apples are harvested in the United Kingdom in the autumn, some are sold fresh and the rest are stored at 1°C for the rest of the year. If you want to eat an apple in the spring, your choices are apples that have been stored in the UK using twice the energy as a fresh UK apple in autumn, or apples transported from New Zealand, which use nearly three times the energy as a fresh UK autumn apple due to the distance involved.
Save food by purchasing odd-shaped fruits and vegetables. Large quantities of food are wasted due to quality standards that over-emphasize appearance. Look out for them and save them from the bin. They taste the same.
You can also save food going to waste from shops, using the Olio or the Too Good To Go apps, that will put you in touch with shops and people who have food to save.