Food Waste

What You Can Do!

• Inventory your refrigerator before shopping.
• Date labels are an indicator of food quality, not safety; therefore, food that is past the “sell by date” is often edible. Taste and smell it.
• Enjoy planned left-over nights to clean out your refrigerator.
• Freeze surplus food right away and keep a list and date of what is in your freezer.
• Plan purchases to only buy what you plan to eat – avoid bulk buying unless you will eat it.
• Keep track of what and how much you throw away and buy/prepare less of what ends up in your garbage. You discard more than you might think!
• Donate excess food to local food pantries. You are protected by Good Samaritan laws.
• Studies show that 68% of food discarded in residential settings is potentially edible.