there is no amount of waste you could produce that would come even close to what a single grocery store does. I worked at one of the loblaw owned stores as a kid and it was absolutely shameful how much just got thrown away. And that's not even including the stuff that logically has to be thrown out like when people return perishables you can't trust them to be safe enough to sell
this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2026
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Is that supposed to make me feel better or worse π
We think itβs suppressed to make you feel better? But that also makes us feel worse lol
I have failed you...
For shedding the stockpile, maybe find a food pantry or something to donate to.
It gets worse if you shop at Costco. I have six packages of Tim Tams to work through. And we learned we don't really like them.
You could always see if a local group home company would appreciate the assistance.
I used to go to a food shelf like program (Ruby's Pantry in Minnesota) and bring the excess stuff I couldn't eat to a group home as a donation.
I have like 60 pucks of frozen spinach, 200 blueberries, and 300 blackberries in my freezer I'm telling myself I'll eat someday π
I'm lucky if the Tim Tams make it home.
Do you live in an apartment building? In mine we put a food box at the entrance where people can share food with each other.
Once upon a time, we would have had pigs to feed our left-overs and wastage to.
I rarely buy meat anymore. Threw too much away when a plan to Cook it never appeared.
Yes sameβ¦ only long shelf life stuff for me. Otherwise I do a lot of buying but also somehow starve π
For food like that, a community fridge, ad in Craigslist, freeze ut if you think you can eat it later, ask friends/family if theyβre interested in them, donate etc
At the moment I toss it on my compost pile but even that feels bad. I have the same problem, I have to buy a little more than I need because brain sometimes will stop eating if it can't find the thing. I try to keep to safe ingredients that I know I almost always like, or that don't perish quickly. I ...
... have a 'miracle ingredient' handy that can be added to anything and makes it easier for me to eat any old leftovers (for me it's mayonnaise, chili or soy sauce, mostard sometimes, or some sauce with garlic).
... have a standard way to prepare stuff. I always cook the same few recipes, have a standard list of stuff at home, easier to find out what I will eat and be stocked up for it.
... only permit myself one experimental buy per shopping trip to avoid collecting too many things I don't like.
... still create cheese and bread waste in great amounts. I am learning to make cheese and bread myself and it doesn't always work out yet. My equines get the bread, every slice left is dried and they get one in their morning bucket. The cheese is thrown on the compost and attracts the neighbours dogs and they are cute.
... have also chickens, and plan to get two pigs, to feed food and garden waste to - not a solution for the urban dweller of course but a nice and natural solution.
Since I got a tawa and started making my own flat breads (using more gut/environment gentle grains like spelt), I've eliminated a lot of bread waste [... only a little flour loss from the mixing bowl]. Make one, eat one. Never a mouldy brick forgotten about in the breadbin again. :)
I feel like having a few farm animals solves many of life's problems!
Yes it does, however it introduces a host of new ones like bugs, overwhelming amounts of manure, having to build and fix fences ... But the animals are really good company and that makes up for it.
At this point I only stock up on things that have a 1+ year shelf life and I only buy salted butter!
You could buy unsalted butter, and turn it into ghee, then it's shelf life is effectively infinite (or at least hundreds of years).
I'm able to finish a pack of salted butter before it spoils :)