This Week At OOPS

The  Great Unwaste

Children in 3MP are looking at how to persuade everyone to be more sustainable. They have been reviewing a new set of advertisements ‘The Great Unwaste’ and have some handy hints to share for all our Old Orchard families. The aim is to save time, save money and most importantly to NOT WASTE FOOD!

Pack it, Stack it and Chill it!

Do you want a fabulous future? We will get one if we do something about food waste! One thing we could do is keep food in our fridge and freezer. Your fridge needs to be between 0-5 degrees Celsius to make food last longer. Storage containers help portion the food, this means make it easier to eat; they are airtight which is helpful to stop mould.  If the food is labelled you know what it is. Another idea is buying unwashed potatoes this makes them last longer. One of the most wasted foods is bread so put it in the freezer and take it out when needed. These are just a few things we can do to save food waste. We in 3MP have found many other ways to STOP FOOD WASTE! So read on to be informed!

Save Room for Seconds     

 Who doesn’t love a dinner with friends and family and yummy food? What … 7.7 million meals have been thrown away every day! Most of the plate of food goes in the bin! We must solve this and here are some ideas to help you and your family. Instead of taking a huge plateful of good food, take little amounts of food and go back for seconds. As an alternative of throwing food out, put it in the fridge or freezer or be the lucky one to have it for lunch tomorrow. Let people serve themselves so they can put as much as they want. If you are still hungry have more food. This lets you make better choices of how much you want. If we don’t stop wasting food this country is going to become a wasteland! Do you really want that to happen?

Stick to Your List     

Have you been shopping without a list? You must have one and this is why. Sticking to your shopping list makes a big impact on the food that is being WASTED. It will also make your life easier. Are you one of the 1 in 4 Aussies who go to the supermarket without a list? Yes, you are creating food waste because you overbuy! You get too much you throw out too much, it’s that simple. Don’t buy specials unless if it’s on your list. Food on special is trying to get you to buy more food. This just gives supermarkets more money and more good food goes into landfill. A list makes shopping faster and you don’t buy unnecessary things. The shopping list is a true hero! Do we really want to waste food? Do we really want more methane gas in our environment from wasted food?

Cooked Just Right

Don’t you want less animals to die? Humans are very wasteful, and it impacts on our environment. We only have to look at our environment to see where we throw things, and this kills animals. DID YOU KNOW WE THROW OUT $2500 A YEAR IN FOOD WASTE. Change this by making small alterations in the way you deal with food. Do not cook too much food, BE REAL about how much food you can eat. Making extra isn’t good value if you throw it out. Check if everyone will eat the food or even be home to eat before starting to cook. If you have cooked more, add it to the freezer or take it for lunch the next day. A well labelled and stacked freezer means no more mystery food is hiding and getting lost in the back. Keep checking use by dates, use older food first. Try using measuring tools like cups and spoons, so there’s not waste. Don’t you think $2500 would be better spent on entertaining the family. Think about food waste, it doesn’t take much to change!

Meal Planning   

Do you love watching cooking shows? If you are new to meal planning watch your favourite show while planning. People at the start feel like it is a hassle when food planning. Once you get the habit of it you will most definitely smash through it fast like the wind. Two thirds of Australians regularly plan their meals but still end up with leftovers every night. Why? A lot of hours and money would be saved by meal planning in an unwasted way.  Once you’ve made your meal plan get that shopping list sorted out. Write a quick list before heading to the shops. Only use your list to buy what’s needed. Plan for a leftover meal once a week to clean up all that food that will end up in landfill.  You can help yourself, your family, your community and all Australians by not wasting food!

First in, first out 

Who likes to be smart? We’re wasting twice as much food as we think. You can change this if you use a simple idea first in, first out! What is this clever trick? It is amazing! The food you buy first is the one you use. Don’t go buying more food, when food is already in the fridge. Frozen food can be unwasteful it lasts longer and can be used easily. When adding food to cupboards and the fridge, put old food in front of new food so it is used first. This super trick will save you from letting your food get mouldy and binning it. Letting your food being thrown in the bin and ending up in landfill is such a terrible waste. Before grabbing a new big bag of salad think, have you used the one in the fridge. Make sure that your food is labelled. If you can’t use the food, put it in the freezer. My honest opinion is that you should keep your fruit in the fridge (all except those beautiful bananas) because it makes it last longer and you won’t waste it. Let’s turn food waste around!!! Make every leftover count. We all have a responsibility to turn food waste around – farmers, supermarkets, families and future friends.

Join the Leftovers Revolution

Should we really let so many leftovers get thrown out? Leave one night free to eat those leftovers. Make this a habit and food won’t end up in the bin and you will save yourself money. Most things can be turned into a curry. Making a new meal out of an old meal will make you feel like Jamie Oliver or Nigella. Just think, a leftover steak can make 4 tacos.  As others have said the freezer is your friend for leftover food. All leftovers or older food should be put at the front of the fridge shelves so you can use it first. Labelling helps you identify what that treasure food is. Another fine habit to have. What should you do STOP WASTING FOOD and help Australians REDUCE landfill!