Food Waste

2023 Food Waste Reduction Challenge Overview

Although the Saint Paul challenge has ended, residents can still view the many resources to learn more about food waste and how to prevent it!

The Saint Paul Food too Good to Waste program was an online food waste prevention challenge for Saint Paul residents. Every week, participants received tips, tools, and guidance to help reduce food waste, save time, money, and the environment!

It was a flexible course to be completed at your own pace, activities took about take about 1-2 hours per week. To track progress, each household collected and weighed their food waste each week.

Impact

• Impact of Food Waste (974.74 KB)

Smart Shopping- Takeaway 1: Ways to reduce waste before and during shopping 

• Know what food you have before you shop and make a plan for your meals:
• Grocery List Template (100.82 KB)

Smart Storage- Takeaway 2: How to store fruits and veggies to extend their lifespan and quality

• Follow storage tips to make fruits and vegetables last longer.
• Food Storage Cheat Sheet: Fruits & Vegetables (1.36 MB)
• Stock your fridge and freezer in a way that makes food last longer and know when leftovers are still safe to eat.
• Food Storage Cheat Sheet: Stocking the Fridge & Safe Leftovers (348.69 KB)

Smart Prep- Takeaway 3: Ways to prep vegetables to minimize waste

• Prep your food in a way that will reduce food waste.
• Cheat Sheet: Food Prep to Make Food Last Longer (567.67 KB)

Smart Savings- Takeaway 4: Eat what you buy to save money and resources 

• Find interesting ways to save up the last of food and food scraps that would usually go to waste.
• Save the Bread (203.69 KB)
• Save Banana Peels (522.51 KB)
• Save Citrus Peels (834.38 KB)

Compost- Takeaway 5: Compost food scraps to reduce negative environmental impacts

• Compost in your yard or take your food scraps to a free drop-off site in Saint Paul for composting.
• Food Scraps Drop-off Sites (1.43 MB)
• Food Scraps & Yard Waste Composting (web link)

Why Food Waste Matters

In the United States, it is estimated that about 30% of all food is wasted. This accounts for a whopping 21% of total garbage generated in the United States. Most of the food waste produced by families is preventable, meaning that we are throwing out food that still is or was edible. In 2014 the City of Saint Paul set an overall residential waste diversion goal of 50% by 2020; we are currently at 29% diversion. For Saint Paul to reach our waste diversion goals, there must be a significant reduction in food waste generation and an increase in the amount of organic waste we capture.

To address this issue, we developed tools and informational resource following the Environmental Protection Agency's Food Too Good to Waste toolkit to assist residents in reducing preventable food waste and learn more about recycling food scraps. 

 Want to dive a little deeper into Food Waste and Waste Reduction?

This food waste infographic provides stats on food waste: Impact of Food Waste

This seven minute video provides information on the impacts of food waste, and particularly focuses on expiration dates: Fighting Food Waste Video 

Our recycling team put together a ten minute video on shopping thoughtfully to reduce packaging waste: Shop Smart Video

This ten minute PowerPoint presentation provides more background on the environmental and economic impacts of food waste: Plan, Eat, Save Introduction Video