Waste No Food

Being Good Stewards of our stuff involves not wasting food! I have really been paying close attention to this after hearing the statistic of how much food Americans waste: 25% of our food, and 50% of our produce. It’s not so much of a “go green” approach, but really a consideration of those who are poor. With Pope Francis emphasizing the need of the church to take care of the poor, I have been looking at my own lifestyle and trying to see how I can help the poor. I don’t think I have been called to go overseas to a third-world country. Perhaps something local? I am currently looking into helping out our St. Vincent DePaul Society. This is a possibility. But a couple of things I know for sure, and that is to give generously to those organizations that do help the poor and be a better steward of the things that I have been given.

This leads back to the idea of not wasting food. Just think: If I can save 25% of my food bill every month instead of wasting 25%, like the national average, I could give a hefty amount of money to an organization like Food for the Poor.

I just received a brochure from them that said I could feed a family for a month for $14.60. I could also give $25 that would buy 20 chicks or $600 for a cow. I left this brochure on our counter where my children eat some of their meals. It might serve to remind them to clean their plates a little better.

Having just returned from giving a seminar a couple weekends ago, I am reminded of many of the Smart Martha ideas that would help us to be better stewards of our money and food.

Find a list of ideas to help us keep from wasting food at http://www.smartmartha.com/Pages/WasteNoFood.aspx.