Green Tips
Reduce Food Waste
If food waste were its own country, it would be the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide behind China and the United States. One third of worldwide food production is thrown away instead of feeding people who need it. To reduce household food waste, here are a few tips and tricks on how to properly store your foods and produce to make them last longer:
- Your freezer is your best friend
Leafy greens such as kale and spinach can be frozen for 3-6 months to keep them crisp and green. Once frozen you can use them in smoothies, soups, or sautéed on your stove top!
- Do not store onions and potatoes together
Onions and potatoes can’t be stored in the same space because onions have sprout inducing gases that cause potatoes to sprout quickly. Un-cut onions need to be stored in a well ventilated area such as a cupboard or on the countertop while potatoes need to be stored in a cool and dark place, preferably in a paper or ventilated bag.
- Keep un-cut tomatoes out of your refrigerator
Tomatoes love warmer climates and warmer temperatures - that’s how they grow best. Because of this, tomatoes are prone to "chill injury" which creates mealy tomatoes. Until you cut into your tomatoes, keep them in a shaded area on your counter.
- Use a meal planner
Meal planning helps reduce food waste because you are only purchasing food items that you need. There are many methods of food planning, including both traditional and technology assisted options, like the Plan to Eat app.
City Council policy team member, Shauna Harshman, makes a fun weekend activity out of it: "I sit down with my favorite cookbooks, make my menus and grocery lists and then do my meal prep for the entire week." Shauna is now looking to find others who are interested in joining her for a group planning effort. Since recipes often call for a smaller amount of a food than you purchase in the store, (a quarter head of cabbage for example) meal prepping with other households will not only create greater variety, but also help to eliminate wasted food.
City Resources
If you're interested in composting your food waste, visit the link to sign up for your household green bin! You can put yard work organics and food organics in this green bin.
Green bin services are suspended from December - February, but if you want to continue composting pick up during those months, call 311, or for outside city limits, 509.755.CITY (2489) to continue the service year round at an additional charge of $4.33 per month.
