I regularly volunteer in a group saving food waste from supermarkets and redistributing it to refugee centres. I find this work valuable for four reasons:
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Firstly, redirecting food that would otherwise be composted or incinerated back into the food chain reduces the amount of food that has to be produced. It is well known that food production has a huge environmental footprint, so anything we can do to reduce the amount required is a boon for the natural world.
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Secondly, I think that the work is a positive contribution to society. Most of the food we save from going to waste is donated to people with very low incomes.
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Thirdly, I enjoy the work itself, which involves for example driving, loading and unloading a van. It's completely different from my day job, which mostly involves sitting in an office in front of a computer screen.
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Lastly, people who help out in the group are allowed to take some food for free for their own use. That obviously reduces our household expenses, meaning my partner and I can save more money.
I thought that it would be helpful to list a few tips about how you too can help reduce food waste and at the same time save money. Some of these tips are specific to living in Switzerland, while others are more general.
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Many of the supermarkets in Switzerland and in the UK (and presumably also in other countries) have special sections where they sell reduced price items, which are about to reach their sell by dates. In Switzerland these items are usually marked with orange or red stickers with 10% to 50% price reductions.
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In case you have a pet, some of the pet food stores in Switzerland have also started to sell pet food, which has almost reached its sell by date, at reduced prices. See for example Petfriends (in German or French).
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Planning your menus for the week ahead, writing a shopping list based on that menu plan and then only buying what’s on the list when you go shopping can help avoid buying more than you can use before it goes off.
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“Best before” or “use by” dates are very conservative here in Switzerland. I’ve regularly eaten yogurts, which are two weeks beyond their “best before” dates. If you have a product, which has passed it’s “best before” date, use your five senses to decide if it’s really not good anymore, before throwing it out.
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Too Good Too Go was founded in Copenhagen in 2015. At the time of writing they are active in 19 countries and have partnerships with thousands of supermarkets, restaurants, bakeries and so forth. These partners advertise packages of products on the app, which are about to reach their sell by date. Customers can buy these packages via the app then pick them up at the seller’s premises. The selling price for these items is usually about 2/3 less than the normal price.
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Madame Frigo is a network of public fridges to exchange food for free here in Switzerland. If for example you are about to go on holiday and you have unused food in your fridge, you can drop it off in one of these public fridges, so somebody else can take it home for free.
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Secend is a Swiss online shop selling discounted products, which have for example just reached their “best before” date. They also sell for example products with incorrect packaging or “end-of-line” products, which the supermarkets don’t want to stock anymore.
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Why not volunteer at a non-profit organisation involved in saving and redistributing food waste in your town, city or region? One example here in Switzerland is Restessbar Schweiz, a national network of local groups.
I hope that gives you some ideas and inspiration to reduce food waste. If you’ve got further tips, I’d love to hear about them.