Top Actions You Can Take to Prevent Food Waste this Year.
April 1-7 is Food Waste Prevention Week and it’s a great time to start your food waste prevention journey. From eating leftovers to storing food properly and shopping with a list, food waste prevention and reduction is easy to do all year long.
Become a Food Storage Pro!
Learning how to store food like a pro makes it last longer and prevents waste. Download SWACO’s Food Storage Guide to find out how!
Understand Date Labels
A recent study from MITRE and Gallup surveyed almost 10,000 American households about the amount and causes of food waste in their homes. A whopping one-third of households reported they “often” or “always” throw away food that has passed the date on the label.
Did you know that our senses are often our best guides to knowing if a food is good to eat? Understanding and demystifying date labels can help you avoid throwing away perfectly good food.
Join a Community Food Waste Drop-Off Program
Even the savviest among us will still have inedible food scraps to contend with. For an alternative to backyard composting, many cities in the central Ohio region now offer a free Food Waste Drop Off Program to residents.
See if your city has a program.
Tips for Collecting & Storing Scraps at Home
If you’re new to collecting food scraps at home, it might seem like a messy thing to do indoors. Check out our tip sheet on how to store this material so easily that even Marie Kondo wouldn’t bat an eye.
Community Backyards Program Opens Soon
Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District’s (FSWCD) Community Backyards program provides a variety of rebates to homeowners to improve water quality in their backyards. Using compost on yards and in gardens and flower beds is one way to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and protect water quality. SWACO provides financial support to the Community Backyards program to make at-home compost bins available to Franklin County residents at a significantly discounted rate, making it easier for families and individuals to start their composting journey.
This program is always popular, and supplies are limited.
