Lane County’s “Simplify the Holidays” campaign hopes to help residents and businesses reduce food waste during the holiday season—and ease the financial burden of high inflation.
Over the past year, U.S. food prices have risen more than 10 percent, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI). This data presents real challenges for people coming together during the holidays. Food waste only exacerbates the issue.
For example:
- ReFed estimated that 305 million pounds of Thanksgiving food were thrown out in 2022.
- Environmentally, producing this food generates more than 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, the same as driving 169,000 cars for an entire year.
- The Lane County Solid Waste Management Plan lists food waste as the county’s highest individually categorized part of the waste stream at nearly 18 percent.
In addition to the Simplify the Holidays website (simplifytheholidays.org)—which has information on curbing food waste—Lane County’s Eat Smart, Waste Less website (eatsmartwasteless.tips) lists tips and tools to help people realize food waste savings.
“Both websites can help Lane County residents,” Hiestand said. “Visitors can learn food shopping, storage, and preparation skills. It’s good for the wallet and the planet. A holiday win-win.”
Original source can be found here.
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