Spring is all about rebirth and new growth. Leaf buds appear and flowers begin to creep up, inspiring us to shift our nightly menus from stews and hearty soups to fresh fruits and vegetables. We begin thinking light when it comes to food, which is a perfect time to adopt some new habits that focus on sustainability for our kitchen as a whole.
Your pantry is the perfect place to start when it comes to incorporating sustainable practices around food. From what you buy to how it’s prepared, small changes can make big differences.
Do a little bulk shopping
A trip to a bulk store is a great way to fill your pantry sustainably. Buying bigger containers means you shop less, so less fuel to and from the store gets used. Less packing also goes into the trash as waste.
You’re thinking smart, but not everything works in bulk size. Since the goal isn’t to produce more waste, as in food that goes bad before you can eat it, stick to these items when bulking up:
- Olive oil
- Peanut butter
- Rolled Oats
- Frozen berries
- Canned goods like tomatoes
Recycle what packing you can too, and you’re doing an even better job of springing into sustainable food.
Grow what you can
Not necessarily for your pantry, but growing your own produce puts better fruits and vegetables in your fridge. You’re not only using less resources to get the food from the ground to your table, but you’ll save a little money too.
Pick 3-4 of the items you eat most and set aside some space in your yard for a small garden. Even if it takes a few tries to get a lot growing, you’ll feel an immediate sense of satisfaction when you eat something you grew yourself.
Clock travel time
While most produce arrives at your grocery store year-round, it’s not always locally grown. It may not always even come from within the country. Buying off-season produce means it took a lot of fuel to arrive. Whether by plane or by truck, transporting those items puts harmful emissions into the atmosphere — more so than if the items were in season and coming from close by.
Knowing what’s in season where you live, and sticking to those fresh items when shopping, creates a more sustainable situation when it comes to travel time into the store. Not only that, but shopping locally means you’re supporting the farmers closest to you.
To really get a handle on what’s in season, check out a farmer’s market or local produce stand in lieu of a grocery store chain.
Don’t forget about the packaging
Eating sustainably isn’t just about the food, it’s also about what the food comes in. If your favorite healthy foods create a lot of plastic waste, you’re missing a step in the sustainable picture.
You can start cutting back on the plastic you bring home from the store by bringing your own bags when grocery shopping. Keeping a supply of reusable bags in your car means they’re always at hand when you need them.
If you do have to use single-use bags, your grocery most likely offers a way to recycle them.
Once you’re in the store, examine the packaging your favorite foods come in, and consider an alternative brand if you start to notice too much plastic going into your cart. You can also check out what your favorite brands are doing to offset their own plastic waste. That counts too!
IMPACT COLLECTIVE member brands, for example, focus on a variety of sustainable practices including those connected to plastic waste and packaging. Some of the initiatives their efforts support include The Mediterranean Cleanup in Greece and plastic recycling collection efforts in Haiti and India. When an IMPACT member brand reduces their plastic footprint and offsets their own packaging, our partner initiatives are able to make an even bigger difference.
Certain IMPACT brands take things a step further and have discovered alternate packaging options so they don’t have to use plastic at all. It’s this kind of thinking that connects IMPACT to its partners, and allows everyone to support sustainable practices when it comes to food.
Think about sustainability even in the kitchen
You may already have adopted sustainable practices in other areas of your life. If you’re careful with your electricity use, or avoid drive-thrus to idle less in your car, you’re already on your way. Take things one step further and think about sustainability when you’re in your kitchen.
Eating sustainably, by filling your pantry with health-conscious foods that don’t take a huge toll on the environment, is just as important as taking recycling seriously and buying from companies who offset their waste. It’s the perfect combination to really make a difference as the world wakes up this spring.