As observed earlier, consumers play a huge role in determining the total amount of food that goes to waste. Based on the popular 3Rs of conservation – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – here are some steps that you can take to reduce food wastage.

1.  Find Out Where Your Food Comes From
   Food on your table come from a long process that begins with the hard work, sweat, and energy that farmers put in to produce food. This appeals to your moral values and beliefs as once you understand how long and tedious the farming process it, you may be better able to better appreciate and cherish the food on your plate and not waste it.
2. Grow Your Own Food
   Although it may be harder to do so if you live in flats, you can try to grow your own food which will not only help to reduce wastage that may occur during food transportation and storage, but also help you to save cost. Rearing chickens or planting fruits like papayas and bananas can be found in several households in Singapore. Furthermore, quality is guaranteed as you will know exactly what goes into the planting or rearing of your food product.
3. Make A Grocery List
   Although simple, many people are guilty of not making a list, allowing them to wonder down the colourful and attractive aisles of supermarkets before remembering what they have to purchase. Before they know it, their baskets are filled to the brim with items that they never intended to get; the bulk of which may eventually be wasted. Hence, plan what you want to buy before you enter the grocery store. Be task-focused, and get only what you need. This will reduce the likelihood of you overbuying, and helps to reduce wastage.
4. Cook, Order and/or Buy Just Enough
   Rather than cave in to greed, cook, order, or buy just enough food that can keep you filled and satiated. A good point to remember is that you have to eat everyday, and hence, your cravings can always be spread out and satisfied at the next meal. This not only helps to avoid food waste, but also helps you to save money and feelings of discomfort from overeating.
5. Adopt Proper Food Storing and Handling Practices
   With that being said, it is impossible to know for sure how much a person wants to eat at every meal, everyday. Appetites fluctuate, and thus, excess food cannot always be prevented. It is thus important to know how to store food longer to allow you to eat it before it spoils.
6. Eat Leftovers
   There is a social stigma around eating leftovers, where the behaviour is seen as an act of poverty of “cheapness”. To clear things up, there is nothing wrong with eating leftover food; in fact, it helps to save the environment and ensures that there is more food available to go around to others who may need it more. Eating leftovers that have been stored properly helps to reduce food wastage at home, as well as maximises your dollar as, theoretically speaking, one portion of food has covered two meals!
7. Influence Those Around You
   Without proper knowledge, people often do not understand that extent of negative impacts that food wastage brings about. After reading this site, you should be more aware of the downfalls of wasting food. Social norms and peer-perceived endorsement will come in handy when changing food wasting behaviour. Other than changing your own behaviour, you can share this information with those around you, or simply influence others by leading from example.

Adapted from Zero Waste SG Limited

These simple steps are non-exhaustive, and can be expanded on. However, they do provide a rough guideline as to how we as consumers can contribute to solving a much larger issue just by changing our behaviour. So, take action and start today!