Food Waste Friday

The only food waste here this week is one tangelo that was rock hard (and I don't know if I would consider it waste, because I zested it) and a small amount of snap beans that migrated to the back of the refrigerator.

One thing I wanted to share was one big huge step we took to help eliminate food waste.

Meet the Have/Need board.

Since starting the CSA/Co-op, we have a massive amount of fruits and vegetables each week, and I learned pretty quickly that if I didn't keep track of them, we would never get around to using all of them. Of course, I could have just taped a piece of paper onto the refrigerator, but then my need to be frugal was trumped by my need to be tidy. So... $6 later, we ended up with a white board that fits perfectly on the refrigerator, and has all but ended food waste in my house. This picture shows just the produce, but we also add any leftovers and things like the 1/2 container of ricotta that will be forgotten.

Since this picture was taken, we have also added a "Kitchen to-do" section, where I list things that need to be done. For example, today's kitchen to-do list is freeze the homemade chicken broth I made yesterday and cut and freeze the red/green peppers.

So... How did you do?

This post linked to Food Waste Friday at The Frugal Girl.