I love the experience of meeting the farmer and purchasing something I know they grew with love and care. Fresh vegetables from the farmers market are SO much better than store bought! I find the flavor to be so much more intense, no matter what the veggie is!

I started a compost pile where I have been placing yard waste and food scraps. It noticeably decreases the volume of trash going in the bin.

Mainly I learned this information from my grandmother who worked in the food industry and my mom. I've also called companies from the product label when I've had a question annd more recently on-line resources and friends.

As a child I was taught "Waste not; Want not" and have used many of the practices that the Food Waste Challenge recommends: shopping from a list, only buying what I intend to use, FIFO, repurposing leftovers, composting, organizing refrigerator so items needing used first are in front, proper storage to keep items fresh longer, using until item is actually spoiled and when appropriate removing spoiled portion and using remainer, buying from the "day old" section etc... This challenge did inspire me to continue to pull together family favorite recipes into the family cookbook I started a decade ago and never completed.