When we read the story of the feeding of the five thousand we often focus on the miracle of feeding so many people with a few loaves and fishes. But another miracle also took place – after such a huge meal, there was no waste!
John 6:12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, let there be no waste.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.
Jesus said to his disciples : let there be no waste! We live in a society of waste –
They gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers. I wonder what happened to those leftovers? Surely there were some very grateful people who had food on their plates that night. Who was left behind? the lame, little children, the old, the orphans. We waste so much food. One third of all food in the world is wasted! Surely this is a sin when so many people go hungry.
Here are a few hints about how to reduce your food waste. See if you can get to zero food waste going into your bin this Lent!
- Shop smart
Check your fridge and cupboard before you shop so you don’t double up and plan your meals in advance
- Serve smart
Don’t serve portions that are too big, rather serve smaller portions and let people come back for seconds. Using smaller plates can also help.
- Save and eat left overs
Make sure you have plenty of plastic containers (avoid cling film as it doesn’t recycle) for leftovers. These are great lunches to take to work or school. Ask for a doggy bag if you are served too much at a restaurant.
- Store food right
Storing food in the right part of your fridge is important. Here is a helpful infogram to see where to store food in your fridge: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/07/26/where-food-goes-in-the-fridge/
- Avoid clutter
Use the first in, first out principle. when you buy groceries don’t just put them in the fridge, but move the older products in front so you use them first.
- Treat sell by dates at guides
When it comes to expiration and sell-by dates you can give yourself a few days lee-way. They identify food quality, not food safety.
“Trust your senses instead of the date on the package. Trust your sense of smell and sight and taste,” he says.
- Keep track of what you throw away
Write down what you are throwing out so you can prevent doing the same in the future. You can even add a money value to remind you of how much you have wasted.
- Donate
There are lots of hungry people out there. How about freezing left over food in recyclable containers and giving it to homeless or street people to enjoy. You can donate to food banks or other projects.
- Compost!
Either start a compost heap or if you have no garden, find a neighbour or project who would appreciate your waste.
Lets obey Jesus and get to zero food waste!!!
Reference
http://mashable.com/2015/02/15/food-waste-tips/#X19G11iqEgqr
Lovely thoughts, and so practical. Zero waste should certainly be on every Christian’s agenda, if we love our Lord.
Cooked food can’t go into the compost heap; either to the dogs, and perhaps start a worm farm. They eat their own weight in waste every day, double in numbers every month, and make great worm wee for our gardens and if you have hens, it’s a Thanksgiving Feast for them!