You are about to prepare a meal, you look at your ingredients, and then suddenly realize that some of them are no longer at the peak of their freshness. They are a little soft, slightly brown … Whoops! In the trash! Does this scenario sound familiar?
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, one third of the food produced for human consumption worldwide is lost or wasted. To put that number in perspective, that’s 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted each year.
Although several losses occur even before the food reaches consumers, food is also lost at home. In Canada, 51% of the food wasted originates from households.
There are many ways that we can still use certain food items that have been sitting in our fridges or pantry for a while: prepare muffins or smoothies, freeze fruits and veggies for future use, or just eat them as is! Often the food is still good even if it looks – let’s say – a little tired!
For more information:
Second Harvest Food Rescue
Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
Canada’s Annual Food Waste — $27 Billion Revisited
To earn 50 ekopoints, save a not-so-fresh food item from ending up in the trash! Tell us what you did to give it a second life, and take and upload a photo of the result.
