 gas stoves, water heaters, or even fireplaces to electricity. Home improvements can go a long way towards drastically lowering greenhouse gas emissions caused by fossil fuels and could save you money in increased efficiency as well..
Eco-Friendly Food Choices
There are some eco-friendly food choices out there that may not be realistic for a family with kids. I know I sometimes get this paralysis when grocery shopping and deciding whether to buy locally grown and organic, or buy pre-packaged food because it’s the only thing my toddler will eat.
It’s natural to question it. But realize it’s all a balance between what’s right for you and your family and what’s right for the environment. It’s about progress over perfection. We’ve found focusing on these simple ideas works best for our family.
Waste Less Food
We have a toddler who can be very picky and so can most kids. It’s sometimes a real struggle! I’ve found myself giving in to giving my child food that I know they’ll eat more often to ensure the food isn’t wasted.
Not wasting food is actually one of the most environmentally friendly things to do. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted.” And not only that, but according to the Natural Resource Defense Council, around 40 percent of the food in the United States is never eaten.
These numbers are staggering, which is why I’m more inclined to feed my child something they’ll actually eat instead of it going to waste. I’m not saying don’t ever branch out and get your kids to try new things. We definitely keep exposing our child to more and more food and a balanced diet. However, maybe when packing lunches or with some daily meals, give kids food they’ll eat and not excessive amounts. It’s a way to ensure you reduce your family’s food waste.
Another simple way to make eco-friendly food choices for a family is to compost, if possible. Food waste does not break down in the landfill, and then contributes to adding extra greenhouse gases to the environment. Families will inevitably have some food waste. Composting allows for the food waste to breakdown properly and turn into organic matter.
For some families composting may not work for you, and that is okay! We struggled with a standard compost bin and the maintenance, but then a curbside compost collection business became available in our area. This allowed us to collect our food waste and set it out to be picked up each week. It fits our family lifestyle and has eliminated our food waste going to the landfill.
So I encourage you to give composting a try or look for a local service provider in your area!
Grow Your Own Food, But Only What You’ll Eat
Growing your own food can be a game-changer for some families. No longer being dependent on the grocery store for produce that isn’t always super fresh and sometimes wrapped in plastic is fantastic. Also, you know where it comes from, if chemicals were used, and it can even save you money in the long run.
You don’t need a lot of space, just some sun and water! We grew tomatoes and herbs in our linear planter boxes that are only 20” wide by 6’ long. In 2022, we’ve decided to grow more of our own food and can’t wait to share how our larger terraced garden turns out.
Again, the most eco-friendly food choice is not wasting food, so only grow what your family will eat. That’s not to say you can’t give fresh produce to friends and family if you grow too much. Maybe just don’t plant turnips if you don’t eat a ton of turnips.
Buy in Bulk
Buying in bulk can reduce your family’s amount of plastic waste. If you’re using something weekly, then why not buy larger quantities and reduce the amount of plastic waste. Instead of buying individual yogurt cartons, I buy a large one that I can distribute out into smaller portions/containers, if necessary. It means a few less plastic cartons to get recycled or end up in a landfill. Plus, we’ve found in the long run it has cost savings for our family.
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