April is Wasted Food Prevention Month. Food for thought:

In the U.S., one in five people lacks consistent access to nutritious food, while up to 3 million tons of wasted food goes to landfills annually.

Between 30% and 40% of food grown in the U.S. goes uneaten. In Lane County, wasted food makes up nearly 20% of our garbage stream. Given the statistics about how much food is wasted once it is brought home from the grocery store or restaurants, a family of 4 can save an average of nearly $2,000 each year by not wasting the food they buy. 

Here are some tips to reduce your food waste:
1. Store food properly to maintain its freshness.
2. Put the items you need to use first in the front of your refrigerator.
3. Look at what you have in your fridge and freezer to plan meals before you go shopping.
4. Use some apps or websites to get ideas for how to use ingredients you already have so they get used up. There are quite a few. My Fridge Food is one.

Lane County Waste Management has some tips on reducing food waste through their Wasted Food Prevention program. Food organization ReFED published their 2026 Food Waste Report on April 7, 2026 and it is free to download.

What are your favorite tips to use up the food you have? We would love to hear what they are so we can share them with others.

Food Waste Prevention Week was in April in 2025, but this year it has been moved to late September 28 – October 4, 2026 to align with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, which falls on September 29.