July 1, 2022 – As one of America’s most popular festivals hides in the corner, red, white, and blue will not be the only regular theme this year. In the United States, the things behind holiday gatherings are almost always the same: Lots of leftover food that is often shipped or thrown away.
“Americans lose a lot of food at every stage of food production and distribution. Nearly 40% of all American food is lost every year,” said Allie Echeverria, a nutritionist at Eaton Broshar Nutrition in Atlanta. “That’s 108. billion billion pounds of food, 130 billion pounds of food, and more than $ 408 billion. “
With high inflation rising in value, the act of buying and preparing food allocated to waste seems to be more complicated than ever.
With the U.S. inflation rate at 8% in May, Americans are estimated to spend $ 6.9 billion on food by July 4th. So how can Americans avoid excessive shopping and over-preparation during the holidays?
New Innovations Reduce Food Waste
Fighting food waste can be difficult, which is why Too Good To Go has developed an app that helps restaurants and consumers fight food waste, especially during the holidays.
Gaeleen Quinn, head of influence at Too Good To Go, says “the app sells mixed products, which would be thrown away, one-third of the price.”
For example, if you order a salad from your nearest restaurant using the app, you will pay much less if you order from the restaurant. But the biggest drawback is not choosing what went into that prayer. There are also no deliveries available.
But this lack of choice does not affect the quality of food.
Elliot Gardner, who uses the app said “You get a good amount of food like 4 to 5 dollars, and this is useful considering you spend about $ 15 on a regular meal but only $ 5 per app.”
Other Ways to Avoid High Cost of Food at This Time
Food waste is not limited to restaurants and shops. We create this at home, too. One way to help is by donating uncooked food to your local food bank.
“It’s really good to give you food you don’t eat,” Gaeleen said, “because it shows that you support your community.”
You can also take steps to cut waste in the front. Planning a menu before you buy only what you need will help you control how much food you spend and how much you lose.
“Plan a weekend shopping list before you go to the store,” Echeverria says, “and ask yourself how many people will be there and what foods you will eat.”
It also advises you to “choose ingredients and know how many times you need to buy them so that everyone is well fed without buying too much.”
For example, if you are baking a burger, calculate how many pounds of meat, how many burger breads, and how many cheese pieces you need and put them on your list.
Don’t forget to check your refrigerator, freezer, and food items before you buy because you may already have items.
Dr.
Lettuce and herbs grow quickly. You can grow fresh vegetables in parts of the gardens. “Plants are expensive, but growing them is expensive, for example,” she said. “In addition there are all kinds of growing kits that can make it easier these days.”
Holidays are about to flow, so it’s not news that people are more likely to spend during the holidays.
“Maybe as long as we all try to adapt and manage inflation and the times we live in,” Bazilian said, “we can start to move on to the times we save or practice moderate or moderate ways of living. about buying and preparing food and when we don’t. ”
