Every year, we tend to waste a lot of food throughout celebrations. Let’s move ahead and discuss ways to reduce it this year. India is a land of festivals, and all of us are fond of the grand celebrations throughout the year with multiple festivals in line. The beauty of festivals is ingrained in their rituals, family get-togethers, community bonding, and food, the heart of celebrations.
We get a lot of food options in these family celebrations, but what happens to the food finally? With a rise in the food cooked and served, a lot of food is wasted annually throughout the festive celebrations be it through family gatherings or sweet exchanges.
While there may be many reasons for the wastage of food to such an extent, some possible reasons that I feel are generally responsible for this are:
So, taking into consideration, these possible reasons for food wastage, let us look forward to some of the major areas we can work on to reduce food wastage. But before that, for ease of remembering, let us differentiate possible methods based on our stages of celebrations of festivals.
A lot of food wastage can be controlled if we take the necessary steps in the pre-celebration preparation. Here are a few measures to check out:
It is very important to consider the fact, that we all must plan whatever dishes we are aiming to cook for the upcoming celebration. This may include multiple options including, the favorite dish, the side dishes, the dessert, and starters. Whatever our plan is about the food to be cooked, we must be thorough with the considered options.
Planning must be worked upon to focus on the dishes, their recipes, and the list to be created. This would ensure that the food will be ready in sufficient quantity without any possibility of wastage.
It is important to have a foresighted approach, considering the fact that even after planning, there might be a possibility that food would be wasted. Thus, we must look and plan into certain possible arenas wherein we can sustainably create something out of leftover food. For example, raita left out can further be made into kadhi, rice can be reused after frying it with additional spices, etc. Thus, we must plan some of these meals that will be created from the leftovers.
It is important that while planning and preparing the list of dishes for the further celebration, we must also look into the already existing material we have. Moreover, we must mindfully sort and arrange things already present in the house and then prepare a list of items to be bought from the grocery store.
A lot of times, we have an impulsive tendency to purchase a lot of good things apart from whatever we already planned. Thus, we must ensure that our created grocery list is rigid enough and we must not mentally enter into an impulsive purchase mechanism.
While the festival proceedings are on, it is recommended to make sure that small portions are served. A major problem that most of us face is that in the wake of not losing out on some delicious dish we try to overly fill out plates. Thus, if in a way small portions are served, then there is a small possibility of wastage from the plates.
A possible measure for this is, to use small serving spoons and dishes. This implies that without tampering with our image as someone going on eating habits we can ultimately work upon lesser serving. Attention can be placed on the kids since kids are pretty unaware of the amount of food put on the plate. Thus, these might help in reducing the food entering into the dustbins through our plates.
During the dish preparation for the celebrations of festivals, we can also be completely creative about the scrap items left out after the food has been created. The onion peels and beetroot peels can be used to create natural dyes, some vegetable leftovers can be reused for creating soups. These are only certain possible options. However, we can look forward to multiple other ways as far as we expand our creative horizons.
Even if these measures are taken, there are chances of still getting some food wasted, however, these steps might help in mitigating this problem. These can be:
Donating excessive untouched and unused food can be a really social yet sustainable option for us. We may consider donating food that is left out and not used at all on the same day to reduce any food getting spoilt. There are multiple organizations working on this cause. This mechanism can be helpful enough for us to be socially responsible while providing food to the needy while also being environmentally conscious to work for lower food wastage. However, it is suggested that a prior permission from the donating organization must be taken to make sure the food is delivered in the best manner and is used rightly.
One final possible idea that can be of use to reduce the food waste generated can be to allow it to be decomposed through composting. The composting process is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable methods for using food waste and other waste generated during the dish cooking process. So, once all the fruit and vegetable peels, and the food waste is ready to be composted, the composting process must be initiated. The process is simple and easy and will be helpful for further use in kitchen gardening, plant growth, and even for sourcing it out to others.
For more details about Composting, check out our blog on How to do composting: your guide to sustainability
However, it does not end here, you may look into and try your own combinations to get the best out of them. Finally, in conclusion, I would suggest that understanding the importance of reducing food waste during festivals for celebration and major sustainable methods to reduce it might prove to be helpful for us in the long run. Moreover, it is also necessary to spread out our own tested measures to everyone because education and awareness will bring in the maximum reduction in food waste ultimately moving forward to a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle.
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Such an informative content it is.
Really well mentioned, actually alot of food gets wasted at my place during festive season. These tips seem great to be applied.
The part here on pre-celebration planning seems to be really relevant. A lot of us miss out on that, kudos on bringing it to the forefront.
I personally enjoyed the post-celebration section because it actually puts forward another way of managing leftover food rather than throwing it.
That was really well explained. It actually highlights your commitment towards reduction of food waste. Kudos on this!
You're really on point, it is sad to note that a lot of food actually gets wasted during the festive season but I'm equally happy to see that there is still a way out.