Food Waste Prevention

Did you know?

• Americans waste about 40% of food produced for consumption.
• This equals about $165 billion each year (as much as $2,275 for a family of four).
• Of that food tossed out, 97% ends up in a landfill.
• 25% of U.S. freshwater and 4% of U.S. oil consumption goes to produce food that gets wasted.
• Americans waste, on average, 1,400 calories per person every day, enough to feed more than the one billion hungry people worldwide.

Consumers in the US spend approximately $200 billion a year producing over 50 million tons of food that will ultimately never be eaten, and another $10 million a year on food that is left unharvested or discarded for purely cosmetic reasons. Implementing sensible, cost-saving measures by reducing unnecessary purchasing and limiting waste in home kitchens can save the average Oregon family over $1600 dollars a year.

Take the Food Waste Challenge: Many of us don’t realize how much food we throw away. Consider measuring your food waste for one week or even just one day. Use a bucket or bowl with a lid and instead of throwing your food scraps or spoiled food in the garbage, place them in the bin. Chances are, you’ll be surprised at how much ends up in there. Then, try any of the food waste prevention tips we have here and see if you can reduce how much food you throw away. Reducing your food waste footprint saves time, money, and the planet.

Eugene tosses 40 million pounds of food into the local landfill each year. Half of this food waste comes from homes. The other half comes from commercial food-generating businesses. When food waste goes to the landfill its breakdown creates harmful greenhouse gas emissions. 

Food waste is not an issue confined to Eugene. Half of the produce grown in the U.S. is trashed because it’s bruised, misshapen, discolored or has some other deformity that does not in any way compromise its food safety. While all this food goes to waste, 1 in 6 Oregonians go hungry. In the United States, an estimated 20-40% of food never makes it to the grocery store – mostly because of excessively strict cosmetic standards. Globally, a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed. 

Food waste creates huge issues both locally and abroad.  We support efforts to combat our global food waste epidemic and draw awareness to food that is wasted throughout the supply chain. Here are some area resources that are working to reduce food waste associated with cosmetically challenged food items:

Imperfect Produce 

Willamette Farm & Food Coalition 

Food for Lane County

Eugene Area Gleaners