Five Ways to Reduce Food Waste with Frego
This is a harrowing stat: over 80 billion pounds of food is thrown away in the U.S. each year, and by some estimations, nearly 40% of food produced will go to waste. This wastefulness is in stark contrast with the fact that so many remain hungry and unable to find nourishing, sustainable food sources. Clearly, addressing food access issues at the government and systemic level is needed. But how can we as individuals respond to food waste challenges?
On Stop Food Waste Day, April 28, 2022, Frego wants to be part of the solution by raising awareness around this issue. We want to give individuals a tangible way to implement change that impacts smarter behaviors around food that can contribute to reducing food waste.
For fun and impact, we thought we’d share ways that Frego can help consumers stop food waste. These ideas include some of the commonly known tips and a few of our own sprinkled in.
#1 Thoughtfully stock your refrigerator
Resist the urge to buy in bulk. Plan your meals and snacks for the week so you can shop only for what you need. Place items you’re less sure you’ll use during the week in the freezer when possible. If you do have pre-made heat and eat meals in Frego, remember you can store them in the freezer and to heat they can go directly into the oven or microwave.
#2 Onboard everyone in the household
As a mom and meal-prepper I can’t tell you the number of times I clean out the fridge and call out to the kids – you didn’t eat the pasta dish I made for you? They fess up – they didn’t know it was there. Or they did, but couldn’t find it. After grocery shopping and prepping, I now assemble everyone or send a quick text for the week’s eats.
#3 Visualize your meals and snacks
Keep your fridge organized with consistency. Use Frego without the silicone sleeve to allow easy sight lines into containers. It totally eliminates guesswork and increases the likelihood you’ll reach for something healthy and prepared vs a processed snack from the cupboard.
#4 Store food correctly
Food spoilage accounts for over 60% of food waste! Learn to store your perishables correctly, or invest more heavily in frozen or nonperishable foods. Did you know that potatoes, tomatoes, and onion should never be refrigerated?
#4 Know food expiration dates and study up on food safety
Many foods that might be fine to consume, are pre-maturely thrown away because their expiration dates are unclear or not visible on the label or date stamp. The food industry could set standards to help consumers with this – like creating space on product labels to write-in its purchase date, open date, and expiration date. For prepped meals in Frego containers, you can write the food item and expiration date right on the silicone. It easily erases for another use.
#5 Love your leftovers
it’s no wonder leftovers people bring home from restaurants get tossed. In their sad, soggy containers, leftovers look so unappealing. Frego fans carry empty containers with them to restaurants to store and transport. Environmentally friendly and more appetizing for sure! And really any meal leftovers from those you serve at home fit nicely into Frego’s two or four cup containers. Makes for right-sized leftovers to grab and go!
Hopefully these five ideas jumpstart some new thoughts and create food-smart behaviors in your household. Remember that the great thing about creating awareness and action is that these healthier habits can be built upon and carried out year-round and ongoing, You don’t need to get it all perfect at once, just keep moving the needle in the right direction to reduce food waste.