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Save Food, Spend Less

Join us in the kitchen and prevent wasted food by signing up for the Save Food, Spend Less challenge, taking place between October 1 - October 31, 2026.

Save Food, Spend Less (formerly known as the Stop Food Waste Challenge) is an annual opportunity for residents to team up with other Saint Paulites and reduce food waste through fun, educational virtual or in-person activities. 

Participants will gain resources to improve their kitchen skills, including shopping, prep, and storage tips. These skills help save money, time, and make food last longer. A family of four can save an average of $2,000 per year! 

Registration for the challenge has yet to open. If you are interested in learning helpful tips and tricks to prevent wasted food, please submit your contact information below to be notified when registration opens. 

Notify me when registration opens!
30.2% of trash in Saint Paul is food

30.2% of Saint Paul's garbage is food 

The City of Saint Paul performed a waste audit in 2025 to research what our residential trash is made up of. This audit found that 21% of Saint Pauls' trash consists of food scraps (i.e. coffee grounds, bones, produce skins), while 9.2% of our trash is edible food (food that could have been eaten but was not). 

The combined amount of food scraps and edible food means that approximately 30.2% of our trash is misplaced. Out of the 10 materials consistently found in our trash, food scraps and edible food were in the top 3 materials. When food is trashed, the opportunity to feed people, animals, and the soil are missed. Landfilled food waste also increases the amount of methane released into the air, a powerful greenhouse gas that can have negative impacts in excess. 

Note: Trash in Saint Paul is sent to a waste-to-energy facility. However, food waste is not the ideal product in this type of facility since it takes more energy to burn. 

Why Food Waste Matters

The City of Saint Paul has a residential waste diversion goal of 50% by 2030. One of the best and most immediate ways we can accomplish this goal is by diverting food from the trash. We can effectively do so in two ways: prevention and composting. 

Food waste prevention ensures that resources like land, water, fertilizer, and labor used to grow our food are not wasted. Food waste prevention also saves money by maximizing the dollars we spend on our food. When prevention is not possible, composting is the next solution that returns valuable nutrients found in food back to the soil. This cycle supports healthy soils, allowing them to grow more food for future needs.

How to: Prevent Food Waste and Recycle Food Scraps 

To assist residents in preventing food waste and recycling food scraps, Saint Paul Public Works developed tools and informational resources following the Environmental Protection Agency's Food Too Good to Waste toolkit, featured below. 

Additional Resources & Videos

DescriptionLinks
One (1) page infographic about uneaten food statistics and opportunities.Wasted Food Infographic
Seven (7) minute video about the impacts of food waste, especially expiration dates.Fight Food Waste Video 
Ten (10) minute video about shopping thoughtfully to reduce packaging waste.Shop Smart Video
Ten (10) minute PowerPoint presentation providing more background on the environmental and economic impacts of food waste.Plan, Eat, Save Introduction Video