In Monday’s blog post, we looked at a strategy to use up things you already have instead of constantly acquiring new things.

Because food is such a special case, I decided to handle it separately. Food waste is a big problem. We throw away so much usable food. As Pope Francis has stated, the food we waste has been stolen from the poor. I know that thought has forced me to rethink how I shop and prepare food. It’s still a struggle, but I’m trying.

While you and I can’t do much about food that’s wasted in farming and processing, we can address the issue in our households.

The first steps are preventative:

• Don’t buy more than you need. Getting the bigger size with the lower unit cost is no deal if you can’t use it before it goes bad. If there’s a buy one, get one deal, consider splitting the purchase with a neighbor or donating the excess to a food bank.
• Don’t shop without a list. When you shop without a list, you are far too likely to buy something you already have or to buy the wrong thing. Guess what ends up taking up residence in the back of the cabinet?
• Limit your meals out and your stops for takeout.

Meal planning can help you use your food more efficiently. When you buy a large amount of an ingredient — say carrots — you can plan meals that will use the ingredient in a variety of ways so that you can use what you bought without getting bored. You can also make sure that you can re-use leftovers in other dishes or for lunches or in soups.

You can apply a similar strategy to the food in your pantry, fridge, and freezer. Once again, it’s always a good idea to open the cabinets and take things out — to see what’s there that needs to be used. Try to build your meal plan to use up a few of these ingredients each week. For example, you have two bottles of soy sauce — there’s lots of stir-fry and marinades in your future. Six cans of tomatoes: that can mean homemade marinara, chili, soups, or a variety of casseroles. The chicken breasts in the freezer can become fajitas or pulled chicken sandwiches or a component to those stir-fry dishes. If you are stumped for ideas, just put the ingredients you want to use along with the word “recipes” into a search engine and see what comes up.

By shopping more carefully, using food efficiently, and creating an intentional plan to use what you have, you can use up a lot of food in a few months. And won’t it be nice to build your pantry intentionally, so that it’s always easy to create a tasty and healthy meal?

This Lent, I’m working hard to eat my way through my pantry and freezer so that I’ll be ready for spring and summer produce. Won’t you join me?