Food truly is treasure in more ways than
you can imagine!
We’re working to reduce food waste in
Rochester and we want you to join us. With easy tips and actions to take, you
can help reduce food waste in your home or at the office. Quite often, we cook
or buy too much food and it ends up being thrown out. This site will provide
tips, key facts, resources, and simple ways you can help to minimize the amount
of food we waste each year in our city. When we each take small action steps
towards repurposing our food and saving what we can, we increase our food’s
life cycle and save money, lives, and our planet!
Why is Reducing Food Waste Important? (Statistics)
Big Picture
- 31%
of available food at the retail and consumer level went uneaten or 133 billion
pounds, representing $162 billion or 141 trillion calories.
- Up to 40% of all food produced goes
uneaten in the US. That is equivalent to $165 billion each year and 20lbs of
food per person per month.
Cost Impact
- The average American family of 4 spends
$1,600 a year on food that goes uneaten.
- Americans spent more annually on wasted
food than on vehicle gasoline ($1,250); apparel ($1,207); household
heating and electricity ($1,149); property taxes ($1,046); and household
maintenance, repairs, and insurance ($936) for the average single-person
household in 2017.
Hunger Impact
- Reducing food loss and waste by just 15%
could feed more than 25 million people a year.
Wasted Resources
Getting food to our table consumes 10% of
total US energy, 50% of US land, and 80% of US freshwater.- Food that is never eaten in the US
consumes 21% of all freshwater, 18% of cropland, 19% of all fertilizer, and 21%
of landfill volume.
- Food waste contributes to the wasting of
fresh water. Every pound of beef thrown out sends to the landfill the equivalent
amount of fresh water as 370 minutes of the shower being run — 104 minutes for
every pound of chicken, 5 min for every tomato, 42 min for every pound of
bananas, and 122 min for every pound of cheese.
Where Does Food Waste Occur?
- 85% of food waste occurs downstream in
consumer-facing businesses and homes.
- 50% of seafood, 48% of vegetables, 38%
of grains, 22% of meat, and 20% of milk gets tossed.
Environmental Impacts
In the US alone, the production of lost
or wasted food generates the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of GHG
emissions.- In a landfill, food waste creates
methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2.
- Composting food waste avoids the
production of greenhouse gas emissions in a landfill and actually stores and
restores carbon in the soil.
- According to the US EPAs WARM model, 1 ton of food waste generates 1190 lbs. of
CO2e GHG emission in a landfill while composting can remove 397 lbs. CO2e/ton.
- Food waste globally is responsible for
3.3 gigatons of CO2e annually which if regarded as a country would be the
third-largest emitting country after the US and China.
Landfill Impacts
- Food
waste is the single largest component taking up space inside US landfills (21%)
and accounts for 18% of all waste in NYS.
Local
- Commercial
and residential food waste is estimated to make up 30% of Rochester Municipal
Food Waste or 29,812 tons of food waste (LaBella et al., 2020) or about 0.8 lbs.
per person per day, yet one in four Rochesterians is food insecure (Gunderson
et al., 2018, based upon 203,265 population Census.gov quick facts).
The
climate impact of landfilling 29,812 tons of food waste is equivalent to 16 thousand
flights from Rochester to Paris (540kgCO2e/ton FW (WARM EPA)) - 1MT CO2e /flight
one way co2.myclimate.org/en/flight_calculators.- If
just 50% of the City of Rochester’s food waste were never purchased in the
first place (source reduced), that would be equivalent to taking 11,860 cars
off the road per year. (14,906ton/year) * 3.66MTgCO2/ton= 54,556MTkgCO2e/year
typical car 4.6MTCO2/yr (EPA)
- Effective
January 1, 2022, the NYS Food
Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Act will require businesses and
institutions that generate an annual average of two tons of wasted food per
week or more to not only donate excess edible food but also recycle all remaining
food scraps if they are within 25 miles of an organics recycler (composting
facility, anaerobic digester, etc.).
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Tips and Actions
Need
help getting started? Our food waste reduction starter kit will help you take
your first steps on your journey to reducing food waste in your home! Download it here: Click for Download
Beginner Food Waste Reducer 
- Make
a pledge to help reduce food waste and hang on your refrigerator. Download and print a pledge form here.
- Use
different sauces, dips, and spices to keep meals interesting from day to day.
- Use fruit and vegetables that are about to go bad in healthy smoothies.
- Use
smaller plates and portions and encourage asking for seconds.
- Shop
your refrigerator! Before you buy something new at the grocery store, take a
look at what’s in your fridge and pantry, and get creative with your next meal.
- Eating
chicken, rice, and green beans for the third time this week? Essential spices
(cumin, garlic powder, chili powder) and sauces like soy sauce, barbecue,
ranch, and peanut sauce can bring new life to any leftovers!
- People
tend to like things they helped make, and children are no different. Involve
your kids in cooking! Give them choices when possible, and allow them to serve
themselves in the portions they want — within reason.
Intermediate
Food Waste Reducer 
- How
can your different ingredients do double duty? If you’re thinking of making
tacos one night, what other meal can you make with those tortillas?
- To
preserve freshness and nutrition, use perishables like seafood and meat earlier
in the week, and save staples like pasta, dairy, and eggs to eat later in the
week. Additionally, some heartier greens, like kale and chard, will stay
fresher longer than others.
- Store
your fruits and veggies in the fridge — or on the counter — based on their specific
needs for staying fresh!
- Create
an “Eat me First” box to highlight the fruits and vegetables or other food that
can be prioritized for meal preparations.
- Check
out some of our recipe resources and make a dish.
- Links
to leftover recipe sources
-
Choose
fresh foods that will freeze (spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beans, peas,
etc.).
- Wilted?
A quick soak in ice water for 5 to 10 minutes is often enough to reinvigorate
wilted veggies. Bendy carrots will straighten right up, lettuce will crisp, and
limp broccoli will find its strength again.
- When
ordering take-out, only order what you can finish by asking about portion sizes
and be aware of side dishes included with entrees. Or, plan on ordering enough
to keep leftovers for your next meal.
- Frozen
foods last longer. Try using frozen vegetables and buy smaller amounts of fresh
vegetables — this way, you won’t end up with veggie-less meals by the end of
your week.
- Whether
you have a vegetable garden at home or have some leftovers from your most
recent shopping trip, share your abundance with neighbors! Post in the NextDoor
app or in your neighborhood Facebook Group to prevent food waste in our
community.
Ambitious
Food Waste Reducer 
- Create
a menu and keep an inventory of ingredients.
- Don’t
start from scratch! Successful meal planning doesn’t mean hours spent with a cookbook.
Start with family favorites or your go-to meals. Repeat them every week or two.
- Once
you’ve gotten the hang of meal planning, throw in a new recipe.
- Create
and keep a recipe book. That way, when you’re looking to put together a meal
plan, you can flip quickly through it for ideas.
- Start
with building blocks for your week. Pick two types of protein, one or two
grains, and a vegetable medley to make at the beginning of the week (or every
other night) and incorporate them into different meals throughout the week.
- Learn
about portion planning. Use this simple tool to determine how much of a meal
you need to cook, depending on your household size. This tool also works great
when friends or family are visiting.
Make
a plan each week for what meals you’re going to cook. Utilize a shopping list
to ensure that you buy all the ingredients you need and the correct portions. Download a shopping list here.- Start
with family favorites or your go-to meals. Repeat them every week or two. Once
you’ve gotten the hang of meal planning, throw in a new recipe.
- When
you get home from the store, wash dry, chop, dice, slice, and place all your
fresh food items in clear storage containers for snacks and easy cooking.
- Build
and maintain your own vermi-composter (composting with worms).
- Learn
how to prepare healthy food to make it taste appealing to all members of the
household.
- Save
time by batch cooking meals that can be stored in the fridge (for a day or two)
or in the freezer for later in the week. For example, bake and freeze chicken
breasts that can be defrosted and used later in salads, pasta, sandwiches, or
soup.
- If
you’re ambitious, you can revive kitchen scraps. Onion and green onion bottoms,
celery, and lettuce cores can be replanted to generate more of themselves. Just
throw them in a cup with some water, once rooted, put into a small bowl with
soil.
Informational Videos:
The extraordinary life and times of strawberry (1 min 52)
100 Ways to reduce food waste you have to try (17 min 17)
Food Wastage Footprint Video (3 min 15)
CEC (Commission for Environmental Cooperation) Food Action kit - video made by kids- bilingual (4 min 03)
Helpful Links
Check
out this list of websites with information about food waste and what
you can do to prevent it!
Savethefood.com - This NRDC website
has a clean design with all the essential food waste information in an easy to
find format.
DEC.NY.gov - This Department of Environmental Conservation website has tips on how to reduce food waste, shopping and prepping info, and wide range of resources.
EPA.gov - This Environmental
Protection Agency site focuses on tips to reduce food waste and a toolkit
resource for your home and your community.
Lovefoodhatewaste.com - The UK Wrap website
is a very comprehensive site and a great source of out of the box ideas.
However, it is a little hard to navigate.
Findfoodsupport.withgoogle.com - This locator tool
you can use to find your nearest food bank, food pantry or school lunch program
pickup site. The site also has national and state eligibility requirements, as
well as information about how to apply for SNAP benefits.
Ivaluefood.com - This Sustainable
America site is really nice with tons of information, a Waste Quiz (similar to
behaviors survey but in a fun way), an online FTGTW challenge, recipes, a
refrigerator guide, tips for youth, ideas for ‘Leftover night' (i.e. - salvage
party), and more.
Loveyourfoodny.org - This is a nicely
designed site. Eat. Share. Compost the Rest. Love Your Food NY is an initiative
to raise awareness about reducing food waste in the Town of Mamaroneck, Village
of Mamaroneck, and Village of Larchmont.
Westcoastclimateforum.com - This site focuses on
Food Too Good To Waste with an overview and links to participating Program
sites and reports.
King County
Food-to-good-to-waste
- Washington's King County site offers FTGTW tools, Quest/KQED/NRDC videos,
photos of people taking a behavior change pledge, and many recipes (with
videos).
King CountyFood-to-good-to-waste -This site overviews a
social enterprise including collaborative hands-on programs, culinary
job-training with a trauma-informed curriculum, catering, online resources,
consulting, and recovery services. They provide strategies that benefit local
communities, save money, and alleviate strain on the environment. Programs
increase awareness and action around food waste reduction and create jobs in
the food recovery sector. Just a small section of the website has tips.
Scrapfoodwaste.org - This State of
Vermont site is a good source for a few high-level and clearly communicated
tips with a small compost focus for the rest of the site.
FCgov.com - The Fort Collins, CO
site includes a challenge worksheet and nice slogans. Information and campaigns
include, “I'm Not Dead Yet” (revive food), “Bring Out Your Dead” (recycling —
animal feed, waste cooking oil, compost, garbage disposal), and a link to meal
planning apps.
Foodprint.org - What are expiration
dates and what do they mean? This confusing topic is straightened out by this
Foodprint Blog: Should You Follow Expiration Dates and Sell-By Dates. The more
we know about how our food goes bad, the better and faster we can use it up
before it goes to waste!
Food Waste Reduction Tools
City of Rochester Food
is Treasure Program Guide (PDF)
Easy Tips for Reducing
Food Waste at Home (P2I PDF)
Food Waste Essentials
eBook (RIT P2I)
Organic Resource
Locator (RIT P2I)
The Guestimator Food
Meal Prep Tool (savethefood.com)
Interactive Storage
Guide (savethefood.com)
EPA Implementation
Guide and Toolkit
Food Waste ReportingSurvey (Survey.constantcontact.com)
Seven Online Meal &
Menu Planning Tools | Kitchn (thekitchn.com)
Eureka food Storage Guide A-Z
(eurekarecycling.org)
ReFED online quiz
(refed.com)
EPA- date labeling fact
sheet (USDA.gov)
Recipes
Tired of leftovers? Looking for a little inspiration or creativity to recreate your meals? Check out these fun, family-friendly recipes to turn your leftovers into creative new meals that everyone will enjoy!
Save The Food Recipes – This site offers
featured recipes, cooking with food scraps, and saving food past its prime.
They also have vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.
The Scramble Prep and
Recipe Resource
– This site offers resources and learning tools from cooking fundamentals and
kitchen organization to their how-to library. They also have seasonal, special
diet, and kid friendly recipes.
King County Recipe Box - Full of recipes that
can help you save time, waste less and stretch your grocery budget.
Stop Food Waste
Leftovers Recipe Book – This recipe
booklet by DSM is created in the spirit of Stop Food Waste Day on 29 April,
promoting worldwide awareness and action on the importance of food and good
nutrition. Food and nutrition is fundamental to achieving many of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
25 Easy SmoothieRecipes (allrecipes.com) – This site has 25 recipes for smoothies with three
ingredients or less.
Thirteen Easy Sauces!
(hilahcooking.com)
- Easy sauce recipes for any meal or occasion.
Ikea’s Scraps Book - A cookbook dedicated
to cooking with the little things we usually throw away. Featuring 50 recipes
created in collaboration with chefs across North America and waste-saving tips,
all designed to help you live a little more sustainably in your kitchen.
Food Waste Free Recipes
- Morton Salt
– Check out these 43 food waste free recipes that include ingredients you might
normally toss.
Composting
Composting is the final stage before landfilling in the EPA's Food Recovery Hierarchy which is posted under the Food Waste Reduction Tools section above. Composting is not only a great way to create nutrient rich soil but it also reduces green house gas emissions while sequestering carbon in the land. To learn more about the City's Roc City Compost Pilot Program click here. To learn more about he City's 
Food Waste Reduction, Donation and Organics Recycling Program click here.
Composting Tips
- As
you prepare your meals, keep a small bowl on the counter to collect your scraps
as you prep! Peels, roots, leafy tops, skins, anything from your preparation of
fruits and vegetables can be collected and then thrown into your compost bin.
- During
warmer months, keep your food scraps in an airtight container and freeze them
between dumps into your compost bin.
- Utilize
a local composting drop-off or pick up service.
- Build
your own compost bin (if you have space at home!). There are many options for
at-home composting; pick one that works best for you and your family!
Sources:
- 27 Solutions to Food Waste (2020).
- How to Feed Hungry New Yorkers and Fight Climate Change
- The Climate Change and Economic Impacts of Food Waste in the United States
- The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the United States
- Daily cost of consumer food wasted, inedible, and consumed in the United States, 2001–2016
- Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling
- Documentation for Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy Factors Used in the Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
- Food Wastage Footprint: Impacts on Natural Resources
- Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill (2017)
- Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill (2012)
- Map the Meal Gap 2018
- https://refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton
- Estimating Food Waste as Household Production Inefficiency
- Fight climate change by preventing food waste (2020).
- US families waste $1,500 a year throwing out food—here’s how to save more and eat better (2018).
- The climate impact of the food in the back of your fridge (2018)
- New food insecurity data show level of need in Rochester, other communities (2018).
- Savethefood.com/did-you-know
- Food Waste in America in 2020: Statistics + Facts (2020).
- NRDC: Wasted - How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill (PDF)
- RTS Food Waste in America Guide V21
Funding
Acknowledgement:
This program has been partially funded by the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Published September 2021