“In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30–40 percent of the food supply.”
-US Department of Agriculture
Are you as horrified by that statistic as I am?
Food waste can come from leftover uneaten food, food that goes bad in the fridge, or food scraps that are created while you’re cooking. These days, most of it goes to landfills.
This is a huge problem not only because of the amount of trash we’re generating, but because we aren’t operating within God’s original design for the earth.
God made the world in such a way that the food waste we create can be used for other purposes – either as nutrients for the soil or food for other animals.
I am always stoked when we can get back to the natural, God-designed way of doing things so here are 3 ways to reduce our food waste:
-
Chickens
Chickens are the best! This is one thing we do and, while we know that it’s not for everyone, we think more people should definitely give it a try!
Not only do chickens provide fresh eggs that taste absolutely delicious, but they eat lots of kitchen scraps! We feed ours most of the organic scraps that we generate throughout the day. By this I mean apple cores, carrot peelings, leftover rice, gristle from cooked meat, or almost anything else I come up with!
The other perk of feeding them this way is that you save money on food for the chickens (whoo hoo!) and they get to eat a healthy, fresh diet with a wide variety of nutrients. This makes their eggs taste even more delicious!
View this post on Instagram
-
Compost
This rich, dirt-like substance is full of nutrients and works wonders for your garden.
There are many ways to do this. If you have room in your backyard, you can buy a compost bin or create a compost pile. Any organic waste from your kitchen can be added to the bin or pile. Over time and after a little stirring, it will become compost!
If you live in an apartment, or a compost bin is not workable for you, I suggest contacting your local trash company. Most companies offer green bins in addition to recycling and trash bins. These green bins can be filled with all types of organic materials and a truck will come pick it up once a week. The company will add it to their huge compost pile so it avoids the landfill. Usually anything from egg shells to brown paper, fruit and veggie scraps, meat leftovers, and baked goods is allowed in these green bins.
-
Worms
Gross, right? Haha. However, worms are the earth’s best and fastest natural composters!
I don’t do this, but my mom does. Maybe I’ll borrow some of hers and let you know how it goes! Haha. Apparently they devour all types of food scraps and their manure becomes a nutrient-dense fertilizer for plants. It’s extremely easy (so my mom says) and you’ll be able to use the compost much sooner than with a compost bin!
You can keep the worms in a box under the kitchen sink if you don’t have a backyard. All you need is a flat container and a lid with ventilation (just poke a couple holes in it!). You can buy worms online or pick them up from a local agriculture store. Prepare the box with some damp newspaper on the bottom, and start adding food scraps. Then just watch the magic happen! Once you notice a layer of manure that has accumulated, you can take it out and add it to your plants. Your garden will love it!
God has created our earth so magnificently and calls us to steward this world we live in well. I believe that part of the way we can do this is to minimize food waste! Thankfully it’s a fairly easy habit to add into your lifestyle, no matter where you live.
Join me as I use my food waste to benefit the earth and not to harm it!
Aloha,
