Prevent food waste at home

Join us in learning how to reduce food waste by planning meals, using up the food you buy, and storing food properly so it stays fresh longer.

We are proud to partner with Love Food Hate Waste in their work towards reducing at-home food waste.

Learn more about their recent campaigns and activities (7.6 MB)

Of the 5.14 million tonnes of food that is wasted annually by households in Canada, 63% is avoidable, consisting of food that could have been eaten.

For the average Canadian household, that amounts to 140 kilograms of wasted food per year – at a cost of more than $1,100 per year.

Help us all reduce the amount of edible food we waste at home.

Plan it out

One of the most effective ways to reduce food waste at home – and save money – is to plan your meals and shop smart, so you buy only what you need and you use everything you buy.

When making a meal plan for the week, determine first what you can make with the food you already have and then add some of your favourite meals.

Use your meal plan to create a shopping list and then, before you shop, check your fridge, freezer, and cupboards to see what you have and what you need.

Get more tips on how you can plan to reduce food waste at home
Use it up

To help reduce edible food waste at home, use up the food you already have in your fridge, pantry, or cupboard.

Often a quick fix in the kitchen can revive would-be throwaway food items into healthy and tasty meals. For example, soaking wilted veggies in ice water is often enough to reinvigorate them. If they can’t be revived, some veggies you intended to eat raw can still be a tasty ingredient in a cooked dish or in a smoothie.

Best before dates

We know that the date labels can be confusing and can lead to food being thrown away or composted prematurely. Learn more about best before dates so you can avoid throwing out food that is still good to eat.

Recipes

Find delicious recipes and tips for using up extra ingredients and leftovers
Keep it fresh

Storing your food properly will make it last longer and you will end up throwing away less. 45% of food that is wasted at home is produce, often because it wasn’t stored properly.

Did you know that the best place for ripe avocado is in the fridge? Learn how to store your fruits and vegetable by visiting Love Food Hate Waste’s A-Z storage guide

Check out their fridge guide for information on how to optimize your fridge so foods stays fresh longer.

Get more tips on how to keep your food fresh longer

Recipes
Find delicious recipes and tips for using up extra ingredients and leftovers at Love Food Hate Waste.

Here are a few favourites to try:

Avoidable vs unavoidable food waste

Our goal for a zero waste community is to reduce avoidable food waste.

What’s the difference?

Avoidable food waste

Avoidable food waste is food that is thrown away or composted when it could have been eaten.

Examples include:

Leftovers
Speckled bananas
Limp parsley
Last slice of bread
Half an apple

By planning it out, using it up, and keeping it fresh, we can all reduce the amount of avoidable food waste.

Unavoidable food waste

Unavoidable food waste are scraps from food preparation that generally can’t be eaten.

Examples include:

Bones
Egg shells
Vegetable peelings
Tea bags
Coffee grounds

Unavoidable food waste is best disposed of in your Green Bin or in your building’s organics bin.

Prevent food waste at home

Plan it out

Use it up

Keep it fresh

Recipes

Avoidable vs unavoidable food waste

What’s the difference?

Avoidable food waste

Unavoidable food waste

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