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As you take steps to reduce food waste in your life, you may wonder what effect your actions have on the larger issue. Today, we will talk about the influence you can have in your community to enact change for the better.
You can see from the impact calculator that our actions together really add up! You also have a lot of power to influence the people close to you, by sharing advice, being vocal about changes you want to see, modeling positive behavior, or simply sharing excess food.
More raffle winners are included in this email! Read on to see if you are one of them.
Be a leader in your social circle
Use your influence; talk about wasted food and model behaviors that prevent it. Share about your experience or show off your new habits.
Spread the word about what date labels really mean, provide tips on how to store veggies properly, or share tasty new recipes to use up ingredients. If you dine out with friends, find out if the restaurant has half portions or split an entrée with a friend. If you take home leftovers, remember to eat them!
Even if people in your life don’t immediately start taking action, having the conversation is an important first step.
One simple way to help your peers (and yourself) prevent wasted food is to share food. Offer up extra produce, herbs, and meals you made too much of. You can even create a fun challenge by cooking a meal together using up ingredients you all have on hand.
For excess garden produce, share with friends or neighbors or find a local food shelf that accepts it. Check out this Choose to Reuse article on how to donate homegrown food. Try out the Olio app or online neighborhood groups to post extra food.
If you work for an organization that has excess shelf-stable or unserved prepared food from events, make sure your company or caterer has a process in place to donate it. Second Harvest Heartland is one organization that uses a platform called MealConnect to get commercially produced food to people who need it.
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Volunteer your time and resources
Put your extra time to good use by volunteering for a food rescue organization. Volunteers provide a critical link in the food rescue chain by transporting food from donors to the meal programs that can use it.
Two local nonprofits that use volunteers for food rescue are TC Food Justice and The Food Group. Activities include picking up surplus food from grocery stores or restaurants, harvesting food from farms, or sorting rescued produce.
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Another way to impact your community is to use your voice to ask for change on a broader level. Here are a few simple ways to be an advocate for reducing food waste:
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Contact your local representatives, including city council, county commissioners, and state representatives, and tell them about the changes you want to see in the food system. Learn six ways to get involved with food policy from the FoodPrint blog.
- Tell your favorite restaurants that you would like to see smaller portion sizes or menu options to prevent food from going to waste.
- Connect with your child’s school to recommend best practices such as starting a sharing table, donating excess food, or scheduling recess before lunch.
No one wants to waste food, but they may need a prompt to figure out solutions. Practice your waste-reducing behaviors and talk with friends and family to show that preventing wasted food is something we should all do.
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If you’re ready to make an impact beyond your individual role in the Stop Food Waste Challenge by influencing others in your social circle, check out the resources in these actions in the community category:
- Send it down the grape vine
- Get social
- Host a salvage supperclub
- Order half portions
The challenge ends tomorrow - August 31! Remember to log back into the Stop Food Waste Challenge and report your activity through your dashboard. Stay tuned for a wrap-up email next week.
Congratulations to our final raffle winners, Alexandra Urban, Angela Skrade, Mary Seitz, Abby Paul, and Ann R.! Winners will receive a separate email with more information about their prize.*
*Ramsey County and Washington County employees and their immediate family members are not eligible to receive a prize.
Wednesday, August 2: Get to know what you throw
Friday, August 4: Meal planning to waste less and save more
Monday, August 7: Keeping track of the food you buy
Wednesday, August 9: Lower your "foodprint"
Friday, August 11: Creating a grocery list and sticking to it
Monday, August 14: Buying just what you need
Wednesday, August 16: Cooking creatively
Friday, August 18: Make just what you need
Monday, August 21: Getting kids involved
Wednesday, August 23: Storing food to keep it fresh
Friday, August 25: Storage hacks to make food last
Monday, August 28: Food preservation techniques
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