the biggest enemy of any prepper/self-reliance guru/general sustainable living individual, is waste. Americans collectively waste 40% of the food that is grown in this country (this is the officially reported figures, so I would guess the actual percentage is much higher). While most of this waste occurs at the farm and processing level, a good deal actually happens in the home. While we can't do much about waste at the inputs to the supply stream, we can do quite a bit about the levels at the output (our own kitchen).
There are several factors that lead to waste in the home kitchen, all of which are a potential boon to building food storage. First of all, there is the issue of our actual storage. Improperly stored items are a recipe for waste. Failing to rotate is a disaster waiting to happen. Always organize your storage by the most important rule in any grocery store--FIFO. That is to say, first in first out. When buying new boxes of cereal put them behind the old boxes of cereal and eat the old boxes first. While we are on the subject, the key word there was organize. Don't just throw things on the shelves. Put all your vegetables together by variety, all your grains, etc. This way when you go to the food storage area, you can just grab what you need without having to hunt for it. The second potential area of waste with food storage is improper storage. Canned goods need to be stored in a cool dark place. Anything in glass or clear plastic you want to especially store away from light so as to avoid deterioration of the food. Basically the two things that promote the deterioration of food and the growth of harmful bacteria is light and air. The air has been removed from that jar of peaches, but if the light still shines through it you can potentially be entering dangerous territory. Invest in some airtight plastic bins (I personally like the boxy kind with snap on lids as they stack easily). Grains, flours, pasta, cereal, etc. should be stored in these to prevent the access of pests. You are storing this food to feed yourself and your loved ones, not your neighborhood mouse population.
the second principle area of waste is what I collectively call "too much." Cooking too much, and eating too much. People routinely cook too much food, especially for holiday and family celebrations, but also on an everyday basis. It is something that is culturally hardwired into us. A visual representation of abundance makes us feel secure. Unfortunately, this tendency to over prepare comes with an attendant tendency to over eat. The same events (periods of scarcity) that cause our food cultures to over prepare cause us to not want to "waste" food. We all remember our mothers telling us the ludicrous story that we needed to clean our plates because there were starving children in Africa/Russia/wherever the crisis was at that moment in time. But ultimately waist=waste. its fairly easy to calculate the calories you need for every member of your family depending on activity level and stage of growth (it is actually a scientific fact that teenagers do need more calories due to rapid growth as do infants). Prepare meals accordingly.
The third area where waste reigns supreme is what many mistakenly consider trash. Be honest. How many of you bought a box or bag of dressing mix for thanksgiving? How many of you have bought croutons or bread crumbs in the last year? how about apple butter? All of the above have one thing in common, they are made from straight up waste. Seriously. That box of top of the range stuffing mix is nothing more than cubed up dried stale bread and some herbs. Croutons, french toast, bread pudding, and bread crumbs all specifically call for stale bread. apple butter? that is actually made from the peels and cores of apples--and the same holds true for a wide variety of jams and jellies. Apple cider is made from windfall apples that are overripe and bruised (and thus not good for fresh eating or canning. Honestly, the list is endless. Since time immemorial frugal cooks the world over have looked for ways to creatively reuse scraps, and those recipes have become firmly rooted in our food culture.
So mind your waste. With waste you are throwing your prepping money down the drain. How do you avoid food waste? Do you have any other tips for building food storage without blowing the bank? please let me know in the comments section below.
Ever notice how you were never told there were any starving American kids....
ReplyDeleteon FIFO: most grocery stores in my area are stocked at random, many times the stuff in the back expires before the stuff up front. I figure when the truck was unloaded, the new pallet was put in front of the old one and it's too much work to swap them out before stocking time.
Check each item for dates and contents. When you don't you end up with 9 cans of peas and one can of beans... assumed peas would all be in the same box. Silly me.
a very good point. never underestimate the laziness of minimum wage workers. ;) when I was growing up I was a percocious kid so actually did bring that up and told mom she could send my leftovers to them. I just wouldn't feel right eating so much when they were hungry. ;)
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