Back in June, I partnered with our sponsor, FutureFood2050.com to help raise awareness of global food waste and what we as a global community can do to help. While I did receive a thank you gift for my time, I only share information I feel will benefit you as well.
In my June post, I shared the startling statistic that nearly 40% of food in America is wasted, and pledged to find out why we waste so much food when one in five Americans are classified as food insecure.
The answer was straight forward enough: confusion over date labeling on food packages was leading to food waste, but not just in America; this was a global problem.
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As I read more articles and delved deeper into the food waste problem, I started seeing a sub-culture with terms that I had never heard before.
Dumpster Divers – A.K.A. Freegans. The word Freegan is compounded from the words “free” and “vegan”, which most Freegans classify themselves. Most Freegans are in urban locations and are not homeless or destitute, and consider themselves anti-consumerists.
According to Lori Rotenberk of Civil Eats, dumpster divers or “Freegans” are people who dine out on outdated, over-stocked, or over-ripe food tossed out by stores, restaurants and bakeries. She even shared a map with the Future Food 2050 community that shows where wasted food is available for Freegans and urges them to check with local codes and ordinances before taking anything off another’s property.
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While there is no simple solution to global food waste or hunger, there are some simple steps we can take to help our families cut down on our food waste, like only buying what we need, and using every part of the food we do buy. You can read all 34 tips to waste less food by visiting: http://futurefood2050.com/34-ways-to-waste-less-food/.
I found it rather inspiring to know there are grass roots movements like Freegans growing stronger, urging people to move away from materialism and commercialism. There are communities, meetups, and groups available to those who may be interested in learning more. A good place to start is by visiting the links found in the FutureFood2050.com article here. While you’re on their site, be sure to sign up for their monthly newsletter full of information on food, cultures and sustainability.
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I do my best NOT to waste food especially with fresh fruit and veggies. Since there’s only 3 of us, I only buy 3 ears of corn!
That’s a fabulous tip, Joyce! So much simpler to just purchase exactly what is needed.
Wasting food is such a pet peeve of mine! These are great tips and what a great organization!
Truly a fabulous organization, you’ll discover so many tips on their website and certainly, lots of enlightening info!
Dates on food are a big debate in our house. My husband won’t eat anything near an expiration date, while I am perfectly happy to eat it regardless of the date as long as it isn’t “off”. I have heard of Freegans, but I had no idea there were maps to show people where they could get food. So interesting.
I’m with you, I’m not shy of sampling something after the expiration, particularly items like cheese and bread, etc. that are easy to see issues with.
I just had a huge discussion about this with my husband. He will not eat or drink certain things past the stamped due date while I will eat them well past if I feel they are still good.
My husband is good about asking before he discards. It’s amazing how many people have been “trained” to toss things out just because the “suggested use by” date has expired, isn’t it?
I am always hesitant to use food if it’s past the date listed. I do take stock of my fridge frequently, and usually end up freezing anything if I think we won’t get to it in time to try to save it rather than throwing it in the trash.