Food waste reduction campaign wants Quebecers to save their veggies
Action RE-buts says 'ugly' veggies can still be tasty, shows families how to cut down on what they toss out
Did you know that nearly half of all food waste happens at home?
That's one of the messages from Action RE-buts, the organization behind a week-long food waste reduction campaign that kicked off today with a soup lunch at Jean-Talon Market in Montreal.
Organizers used "disqualified" veggies — ones that are blemished or beyond their best-before date — to make a tasty soup and teach families that these "ugly" veggies can still be delicious.
Here's a few tips from Action RE-buts to keep your kitchen waste to a minimum:
Organize your fridge and buy less
It's easy to buy more than you need when you're out grocery shopping so before you go out the next time, take stock of your fridge and pantry and make a list of what you're missing. That'll help limit your purchases to items you need.
Take the time to cook
Canadians toss out $27 billion worth of food each year, according to a study published by Value Chain Management. Tons of veggies are thrown into the trash — even though they're still good to eat — because they're ugly or malformed. You can throw your "ugly" veggies into a soup or stew and save them from the garbage.
Freezing is your friend
Freeze your food before it goes bad and save it for later. Better yet, make a soup in the fall with freshly harvested veggies and freeze half of it to enjoy on a cold winter day.
