The best food waste prevention happens when you eat the food you already have. With a few simple habits — like checking your fridge regularly, getting creative with leftovers, and prepping ingredients ahead of time — you can turn potential waste into great meals and save money in the process.

Use What You Have First

  • Do a weekly fridge check — Take a few minutes each week to do a rough inventory of what you already have and see what needs to be eaten soon. Use the Fridge Reality Check to guide you.

Not sure if something is still good to eat? Most date labels are guidance for quality, not safety. Learn what food date labels really mean on our Date Labels page.

  • Follow the "First In, First Out" rule — When going through your pantry, freezer, and fridge, make sure to use older food items and ingredients first. Don't let precious ingredients get lost or buried by new purchases.
  • Use the "Eat This First" system — Place an "Eat This First" sign on a shelf or basket in your fridge and pantry. Put items that are already open or nearing the end of their shelf life on that shelf so everyone in the household knows what to eat first.
  • Designate a leftovers night — Pick one night a week as "use it up" night. Challenge yourself to make dinner using only what's already in the fridge, freezer, and pantry — no new groceries allowed.
  • Get creative with what's on hand — Casseroles, frittatas, fried rice, soups, stir-fries, and smoothies are all excellent ways to combine odds and ends into a satisfying meal. Almost any combination of vegetables, proteins, and grains can work.
Watch this fun video and get inspired to check what's hiding in your fridge!

Find Recipes for What You Have

Don't know what to make with the ingredients you have on hand? These sites provide recipes and inspiration for making delicious dishes out of whatever may be sitting in your fridge:

  • StopFoodWaste Blog — A diverse range of recipes and tips from StopWaste's community Chef Partners that help make the most of the ingredients you already have. Recipes are rooted in community stories and culture that highlight our organizational partners' expertise in education, nutrition, and more.
  • SaveTheFood Recipes — Waste-reducing recipes from the Natural Resources Defense Council that incorporate ingredients that already seem past their prime (ie. brown avocados, sour milk, etc.)

Prep Now, Eat Later

A little prep work goes a long way toward making sure your food actually gets eaten.

  • Freeze what you won't use — Bread, sliced fruit, meat, and many other foods freeze well. Don't wait until something is about to go bad — freeze it while it's still fresh and at its peak to maintain quality and nutritional value.
  • Portion leftovers for later — Leftovers stored intentionally in the freezer can save you on a busy weeknight. Store leftovers in portions that make sense for you and your family, whether as a full meal (rice and curry) or as an ingredient for a future dish (shredded roast chicken for soup). Just make sure you date and label whatever you're putting away!
  • Batch cook on the weekend — Cook a big batch of grains, beans, or proteins on the weekend and use them throughout the week in different meals.
  • Prepare make-ahead meals — Soups, stews, casseroles, and marinated proteins all reheat well. Cooking in advance means a home-cooked meal is always just a microwave away.

Share What You Can't Eat

If you have more food than you can eat, share it before it goes to waste:

  • Friends, family, and neighbors — Have more than you need? Share extra ingredients and even leftovers with your family, friends, and colleagues. Active online communities such as your local Nextdoor, Facebook, and other 'Buy Nothing' groups are great places to share and receive food within your neighborhood.
  • Food recovery organizations — For larger quantities, such as surplus trays from a catered event, connect with local food recovery programs through our Food Donation & Recovery page.

Not sure if something is still good to eat or share? Learn what food date labels really mean on our Date Labels page.

Resources

Understanding Food Date Labels to Reduce Waste

Confusion over food date labels is responsible for an estimated 20 percent of consumer food waste. Most people assume that the dates printed on food packaging indicate when food is no longer safe to eat. In reality, with the exception of infant formula, date labels are about quality — not safety. Understanding what these labels actually mean can help you make better decisions about the food in your kitchen, waste less, and save money. What Date Labels Really Mean Manufacturers apply a variety of date labels — "expires on," "best before," "sell by," "enjoy by," "good thru" — to indicate when a

The Food Shift Seasonal Kitchen Guide

Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Reducing Food Waste at Home The Food Shift Seasonal Kitchen Guide, in partnership with StopWaste, celebrates the bounty of nature, our resilience, and well-being by highlighting 12 produce items, readily available and affordable in Alameda County, in a calendar-style format. Our template allows for a more inclusive and holistic approach that rethinks our roles in the kitchen and reimagines it as a place where we come together to nourish and be nourished.

Gleaning Guide

After over a decade of gathering backyard fruit in Alameda and donating it to the Alameda Food Bank (over 23 tons to date!), Alameda Backyard Growers decided it was time to begin nurturing and collaborating with other gleaning groups in the East Bay and beyond. The Bay Area is blessed with an abundance of backyard fruit, and, working in collaboration with StopWaste, we hope every community has the knowledge and opportunity to collect this fresh produce and help feed the hungry in their area. This Gleaning Guide provides information about how to start a gleaning program in your community. To