Five Top Tips: Meal-planning is your first line of defence against food waste

1. Conduct a Fridge and Pantry Audit

Before shopping or meal-planning, take stock of what you already have. Remove expired items, note what’s nearing its “use-by” date. This will help ensure older ingredients get used first rather than forgotten in the back of your cupboard.

2. Plan Meals

Meal-planning is your first line of defence against waste. Plan breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks for the week, then build a shopping list around those recipes – and only buy what you need. If it’s not on the list, don’t put it in the trolley!

3. Store Foods Properly to Extend Freshness

Learn the best place to store certain foods. For example, potatoes, onions, and garlic should be kept in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot—never in plastic. And tomatoes and stone fruits such as peaches ripen best at room temperature. Proper storage can double or even triple the usable life of many items.

4. Repurpose Leftovers Creatively

Instead of throwing out yesterday’s dinner, give it new life! Use leftover roast chicken in sandwiches, transform stale bread into croutons or bread pudding, and blend overripe fruit into smoothies or easy jam. Why not designate one night each week as “Leftover Remix” to challenge your creativity and keep waste off the plate?!

5. Compost What You Can’t Eat

Even with the best planning, some scraps are inevitable. Rather than sending fruit peels and vegetable trimmings to landfill, start using a compost bin. Depending on space, you can buy small, counter-top ones or larger ones for the garden. Compost enriches soil, retains moisture, and reduces methane emissions associated with organic waste in landfills.

By auditing your kitchen, planning meals, storing foods correctly, repurposing leftovers, and composting scraps, you can cut food waste dramatically—and enjoy the financial, environmental, and culinary benefits along the way!

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