Reducing Food Waste in Montreal
Reducing waste takes time and passion!
Dumpster Diving
- Why do it? Divert waste, save money.
- Best before vs. expiry
- What`s the problem? Messiness!
- Tips?
- Speak to the store owner to ask permission, leave it as you found it, contact community to share large amounts!
Re-growing from scraps
- Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel, Lemongrass, Celery, Bok Choi, Romaine Lettuce & Cabbage, Ginger, Potatoes, Garlic, Sweet potatoes
- Most techniques involves rooting in water and then transplanting into soil. Check it out for yourself!
- How to re-grow from scraps guide: http://foodrevolution.org/blog/reduce-food-waste-regrow-from-scraps/
Meal planning
- Cook more at home!
- Choose recipes with only bulk ingredients
- Look up recipes and try new meal ideas
- Make a grocery list before shopping. Don`t shop when hungry
- Work with housemates to coordinate ingredients and plan meals together
- Choose simple and healthy recipes
- Using Leftovers
Grow Your Own
- Try exploring balcony gardening if you don`t have a yard
- Look into hydroponic growing and window farming
- Join a community garden
- Re-grow from scraps
Turning scraps into free soup stock
- Save food waste [Avoid skin for non-organic foods]
- Skip moldy or rotten or woody bits
- Base: Onions, carrots, celery.
- Wash and save roots, stalks, leaves, ends, and peelings from vegetables such as leeks, scallions, garlic, fennel, chard, lettuce, potatoes, parsnips, green beans, squash, bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, and asparagus. Corn cobs, winter squash skins, beet greens, and herbs like parsley and cilantro are also good additions.
- Stay away from cruciferous veggies – no cabbage, no broccoli, no cauliflower, and for the love of all things holy, no brussels sprouts–because they can leave bitter flavors in your broth.
- Make sure everything you use is clean.
- You will want to collect about 4 cups of vegetables to make 2 quarts of stock. Save scraps throughout the week, wash and chop them into similar sizes, and keep them in an airtight bag or container in the refrigerator.
- If you are collecting scraps for longer than a week, store them in the freezer. cover them with water, bring to a boil and simmer for one hour, then strain well.
- Freeze, or store for up to one week!
Food Storage Tips
- Onions can last up to eight months when they are stored in pantyhose. Tie a knot between each onion to separate.
- Separate potatoes, apples, and onions. Sticking these three produce items together will cause them to spoil faster.
- Preserve fresh herbs.You love herbs, but you hate to see them go bad. Freeze fresh herbs in olive oil. This prevents freezer burn and browning that happens when herbs get stuck in the freezer.
- If you can’t get through an eight pound bag of carrots fast enough, chop it up, blanch in hot water, and place in freezer bags. Most fruits and veggies do well when frozen.
- Tomatoes don’t like to be cold. People tend to think that placing tomatoes in the fridge will keep them fresh, but tomatoes should be stored at room temperature. Place them in a bowl lined with paper towel and keep the stems facing up to prevent bruising the top.
- Apples can stay fresh for over six months if stored in a humid environment around 30-35°F. Store apples in the crisper drawer of your fridge and separate any that are bruised or rotting from the bunch.
- Storing root vegetables in moist sand or sawdust extends freshness for several months.
- Most refrigerators are kept at 38°F, but temperatures can be turned to 36-37°F to extend food shelf life.
- Lettuce can be stored up to a month in a glass jar to stay fresh.
- Separate each banana and put plastic wrap around each stem to help bananas stay fresh up to four days longer.
Make Your Own Ingredients
- Take common kitchen staples and make them yourself!
- Why? Save money and choose ingredients.
- Examples: Bread (loaves, tortillas) Mustard (water, mustard seeds, vinegar, salt)
- This works to reduce manufacturing, resists corporations, connects us to food, allows you to customize how much you need!)
100-mile diet
- Find food sources that are within Montreal or just off the island!
- Farmers Markets
- CSAs - Community Supported Agriculture
- Find a local farm to get a weekly basket of vegetables and more for a lower price than the grocery
Buying bulk
- Reduce plastic by bring your own plasticware or bags/jars
- Teas and herbs especially cheap in bulk!
- BULK stores in Montreal: Bulk Barn, Frigo Vert, Aubut
Forage
- Lots of events in Montreal to join and learn how!
- Mushrooms, herbs, berries, medicinal, wild veggies
- “Gleaning” fruit with Les Fruits Defendus
Preservation
- Canning during harvest season: large amounts for low prices, in season
- Any time you have too much food!
Composting
- Use vermi-composting worms at home!
- Citywide collection, community collection
- Compost Montreal Services
- Build a backyard or alleyway composter!
Montreal Affordable Stores
- Seagals, Frigo, Concordia Farmers Market, Atwater/Jean Talon Market, neighbourhood farmers markets, Aubut