If you care about the environment and mitigating climate change, reducing your food waste could help put a dent in 8% of greenhouse gas emissions that are from producing food that is lost or wasted, according to the World Resources Institute.

If you care about your pocketbook, cutting your food waste could save you up to $1,500 per year, the average cost of the food that American households throw out every year. According to a recent report from the institute, Reducing Food Loss and Waste, North America and Oceania (Australia and Pacific Islands) waste more food at home or in restaurants than any other region in the world.

More research and studies are needed to better quantify food loss and how to address it, but it’s an important issue that warrants our attention and action. Here are some strategies you can use to reduce your own food waste.

I’ve noted this before, but growing a garden is a worthwhile way to combat food waste. It saves you trips to the grocery store, and because you can harvest when you’re ready to eat it, it gives you quite a bit more flexibility than when you go to the grocery store and have to plan for an entire week. This, of course, is only a useful tool for part of the year in Alaska, but that part is getting longer and longer as our season grows. Continue reading