Food wasted during lockdown

epicuric

epicuric

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Shropshire, UK
Has anyone noticed a change in the amount of food they threw away, both during and emerging from lockdown? The press locally reported yesterday that food waste had gone up significantly since we started to ease out of lockdown. My own personal experience is exactly the opposite. Buying ingredients only once or twice each week was totally alien, and we ended up buying way more than we could eat, some of it would end up in the bin. Now we are back to buying every day or so the fridge is running lean and we are using leftovers, so little is wasted. How has it worked for you?
 
A lot of the waste probably came in the early days, when people were in big-time hoarding mode. I never got into that mode, so my waste level didn't really change.

I only shop about once a week, but I'm pretty good about asking myself if I'm going to use this before it goes bad, when I see something that looks good, but I probably shouldn't buy.

I buy good looking meats, or meats on sale for a good price, but I can vacuum seal them and freeze them. Fresh produce is where I have to discipline myself. That was tough in June, which is the peak time for fresh produce where I live.

CD
 
We had according to Oxford University the earliest and toughest lock down in the world. All the Supermarkets were open and fully stocked. All the food shops were open and fully stocked. All the outdoor markets were open. At first the number of customers entering was regulated. You had to wear a mask and gloves or use the antiseptic blobber machine. The price of 80 staple foods was set in law. Internet supermarket shopping with home deliveries never took off here so the shelves only looked a bit bare before the usual 20.00 hrs closing time. My wife has a pathological hatred of waste, that is why many years ago my wife asked for a vacuum packer for Christmas. Foodsaver Savings Math
"An average family of four spends about $709 a month on food, according to The US Department of Labor. If half that is perishable, and 20 percent of that is thrown out (which is another statistic) because the food expires before it is consumed, then a household throws out $71 a month or $850 a year worth of food. A good food vacuum sealer costs about $125-150 and last 5+ years. A year’s supply of bags is about $50. So for about $75 a year ($125 unit cost/5 years= $25 per year + $50 for bags) you will save about $850 a year. If you have a larger family then the savings is higher, a smaller family then the savings is lower."
For me it is the quality of the food that comes out of the freezer (superb ) and all of the cheats you can do with it. A 4 hour marinade takes 5 minutes.
 
I'm on my third Foodsaver machine in 20 years, because I flat out wear them out. Living alone, I love that I can buy meat in larger quantities, and vacuum seal them, put them in the freezer, and six months later, they are like they were fresh. I also use it for my peppers, but not most produce.

CD
 
Especially in the first weeks, people stored so many food and threw them away once they understood there will be no shortage in supermarkets.
Personally, I've always hated wasting food. I'm only buying ingredients in bulk if they have a long shelf life and a bit difficult to find, like semolina, Turkish chilli paste etc..
I also focused on edibles in my garden and now I am not buying any tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, beans from the market.
 
No, we didn't throw out more during or after lockdown. We're always very frugal with food, I've known hunger as a child so I would never waste it like that. And because we've always been preppers we didn't need to buy extra food when the first weeks of lockdown came. We already had a stash and still have one, we're always prepared for a crisis because my childhood taught me to understand how important having enough food is.
 
Burt Blank said:
my wife asked for a vacuum packer for Christmas.
Click to expand...

Burt Blank said:
For me it is the quality of the food that comes out of the freezer (superb ) and all of the cheats you can do with it. A 4 hour marinade takes 5 minutes.
Click to expand...

I have one which came as part of a sous-vide kit. For some reason its never occurred to me to use it unless I use the sous-vide. I'll have to change that. Thanks!
 
Just before the pandemic hit, I started making an effort to waste less. Before that, I'd feel safe saying I was the biggest offender on the forum, and we rarely did eat leftovers. Anything leftover was binned that night or the next day.

The key for me is menu planning, building a list from that, then sticking to the list and the plan. In the weekly menu topic, I've mentioned that the last month or so, I've been really good at sticking to my plan, and I can see an immediate benefit in the amount of food that goes in the garbage. It's down to almost zero.

I don't have a Foodsaver, but I want one. We'll probably get one this year.
 
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