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Welcome to Stop Food Waste Challenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Stop Food Waste Challenge expert in no time!

Hennepin County | Ramsey County | Washington County
Stop Food Waste Challenge
August 1 - August 31, 2024
Layl McDill's avatar

Layl McDill

ACW Climate Action Team

"My mission is to keep my refrigerator fairly empty so nothing gets lost and forgotten. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 700 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    33
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    1.0
    advocacy action
    completed
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    20
    pounds
    food waste prevented
  • UP TO
    5.0
    conversations
    with people

Layl's actions

Cooking

Use the Edible Portion

I will learn about what food is still safe to eat if portions have gone bad and make sure to utilize the edible portions if I can.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Get Social

I will share information about food waste and the actions that I am taking on social media.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Watch a Documentary About Food

I will watch 3 videos or documentaries to learn about the scope and scale of food waste in this country.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Send it Down the Grape Vine

I will talk to 5 family members or friends about my experience with this challenge, food waste, and what I have learned.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Planning

Track My Wasted Food

I will track the food that my household of 2 throws out so I can learn what we're wasting and why.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Shopping

Support Imperfection

I will intentionally buy ugly produce at the grocery store, farmers market, or sign up for an ugly produce CSA box.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Cooking

Cook From Root to Leaf

I will try root-to-leaf recipes, which utilize all parts of the vegetable, such as beet greens, carrot tops, and herb stems.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Storage

Properly Store Veggie Snacks

I will put carrots and celery in jars filled with water to keep them fresh, crisp, and easy to grab for up to a week. I will properly store 5 veggie snacks.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    Have you ever thought about food going to waste on this scale before?
    Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/31/2024 5:46 PM
    It is so hard to imagine how much food goes into landfills everyday. One of the things that really sticks in my mind after watching "Wasted" is that it takes 25 years for a head of lettuce to decompose in a landfill. I think people really need to hear facts like this. It was very encouraging to hear about how other countries like South Korea are dealing with food waste and the stories about the gardens in the schools.
    Read More
    • H McCrillis 's avatar
      H McCrillis 8/31/2024 10:26 PM
      Indeed. I never knew how long decomposition took in landfills. Thinks about all the carbon dioxide emitted. 😢
      Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Planning
    What did you find you are tossing the most? How can you change your habits to avoid wasting this food?
    Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/29/2024 7:06 PM
    So far I've hardly thrown out anything but I know the thing that gets thrown out the most for me is salsa. I hardly ever buy it because I can't eat a whole jar myself before it goes bad. Other things that have been thrown out in my household are because it gets left at the studio and mixed up with our employees food so my husband doesn't know it is his. We need to figure out away to identify our own food better- maybe stickers on our containers would help.
    Read More
    • Katherine Boyce's avatar
      Katherine Boyce 8/30/2024 1:30 PM
      Salsa, goat cheese, and dill on over-easy eggs on whole wheat toast is a go-to breakfast in our house. Highly recommend, especially if you have salsa to use up. :)
      Read More
    • Margo Ashmore's avatar
      Margo Ashmore 8/30/2024 5:19 AM
      The idea of stickers has promise. For all the fun we had with making the "eat first" shelf labels, for me they got in the way. My fridge is small compared to most, and the shelves are such that things of varying heights have to be put in different places. Good reminder to hunt for the "expiring" foods, though. About salsa, over the years as a single I've found it's best to save certain foods for occasions where I'm going to a party and other folks will help me eat them up.
      Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/28/2024 8:35 AM
    Oh my gosh I came home to so many egg plants growing in my garden! One is about a foot long! We will make the usual eggplant parmesan and moussaka but I need more eggplant ideas!!
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    Describe the conversations you had and if you learned anything about what other people think of the topic of food waste.
    Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/28/2024 8:18 AM
    I talked a lot about food waste with my parents while staying with them. They have improved their food waste over the years by using the mantra "eat what you have". Living 20 minutes from a grocery store has made them think more about using the food that they already have. I taught my mom some ways to use foods that had been left by other family members like "red curry paste". My parents got to really see how I was trying not to waste food by spending two weeks during this challenge together! And I even got them to use up all their tortillas!
    Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/21/2024 5:53 AM
    I just discovered a package of tortillas in the back of my parent's fridge. Any ideas how to use them up? Can you turn them into chips even though they are flour tortillas? They say they won't eat them if they are frozen because they really like them fresh.
    Read More
    • Margo Ashmore's avatar
      Margo Ashmore 8/22/2024 6:02 PM
      https://stripedspatula.com/baked-flour-tortilla-chips/ Yes you can! Here's a bunch of ideas/recipe.
      Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Shopping
    Would you be more willing to buy produce with a few imperfections at your grocery store? Why or why not?
    Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/16/2024 7:44 PM
    Yes! I love this idea. I will try to look for imperfections every time I shop. It does take some work because it is so against the way we usually shop. I will need to figure out a way to remind myself to shop this way.
    Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/16/2024 7:40 PM
    I'm staying with my parents in Colorado and they are happily joining in the stop food waste challenge! We've done really well! We haven't shopped since Monday and we've used a bunch of food that they had already. Our biggest challenge was using up a bunch of greens but we just ate them with every meal and I feel hopeful we won't waste any.
    Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/16/2024 5:56 AM
    I helped at a food distribution in Colorado on Wednesday. It was so interesting! On one hand it's great to see a lot of extra food from grocery stores and restaurants not being wasted but you also wonder if all the food you give to each family will really be used. Especially the bread and sweets. There was so much bread I was giving out 4 or 5 packs to each family towards the end. At least they can freeze the extra bread if it isn't used but do they know this? And do they actually have access to a freezer? All in all I would say that this is a great way to slow down food waste but there is more education and planning needed to make it completely successful.
    Read More
    • Layl McDill's avatar
      Layl McDill 8/16/2024 7:37 PM
      That is such a good idea! I get to go next week so I will see if there is anyone that I could talk to about that.
      Read More
    • H McCrillis 's avatar
      H McCrillis 8/16/2024 6:39 PM
      Would the food distribution group allow notes regarding food waste prevention to be distributed along with the food? Perhaps it’s too soon for the next date, but at least they can consider it for next year.
      Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/07/2024 7:51 PM
    I am heading on a road trip so this is a good chance to clean out the cupboards to bring for snacks. I have also prepared some unique travel food- roasted cauliflower and pear compote! Now to make sure I don't waste food while traveling!
    Read More
  • Layl McDill's avatar
    Layl McDill 8/06/2024 8:09 PM
    Our team got to together to make signs to keep in the fridge! I made one for my husband because when I leave on long trips he forgets to eat the leftovers and I made one for my parents whose motto is "Eat what you have". It was super fun! We used recycled materials and I used some fun stickers!
    Read More