Eco-Justice Team - May 2025

In a time of uncertainty and fear, we all want to take care of our families and ourselves, while never forgetting our obligation to God to further the work of the Kingdom here on earth. One small way of doing all of that is to better control the food waste in our kitchens. It not only saves money, giving us more to share, it also prevents more garbage from choking the environment.

Here are some ways to do that:

1. Vegetable bags- Root vegetables, such as potatoes, onion and garlic, spoil faster in the refrigerator. Keep them, uncut, in a dark, cool place, or at least dark. They can be stored in paper or fabric bags, but not together- onions will spoil faster when close to potatoes.

2. Cheese- One of those foods that’s often difficult to keep fresh, cheese can develop mold or dry out. Wrap it in wax paper (sometimes what you get when you buy it will do) and keep refrigerated. Plastic wrap suffocates cheese and can transfer an unpleasant plastic flavor.

3. Sealable containers- Transfer the contents of open bags of cereal, snacks, and other dry goods to reusable containers. You may have some of those canisters with pop-up lids, but there are always good old Mason jars or cleaned glass jars from sauces or peanut butter.

4. Bread- Well, here’s where I can’t endorse the popular advice, which is to keep your bread in fabric (especially linen) on the counter. As someone who cut up an old tablecloth to make a bread bag, I can tell you it didn’t work. Aluminum foil is the only thing I’ve found that works, especially for homemade bread. Factory-produced bread contains enough preservatives to make it last longer, but that’s a different issue (and a different product).

5. Herbs- Soft herbs, such as basil and parsley, can be stored in about an inch of water on the counter. Nonleafy herbs like rosemary and thyme can be wrapped in a dampened towel and refrigerated in a reusable bag. And of course, you can grow your own, outdoors, on a balcony, or in a sunny window. Then you just cut what you need.

6. Cut onion- refrigerate in an airtight container.

7. Fruits and vegetables- Check out https://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/spoiled-rotten-how-to-storefruits-and-vegetables/. Also refresh celery by trimming the bottom of the stalk and putting it in a glass of water out of direct sunlight. Another helpful hint is to regrow green onion by putting the root and a few inches of the green in water in a window.

If this arrives before April 27, come to the Earth Day celebration in Mt. Lebanon Park and check out the BHCC booth!