This article originally appeared in the Memphis Flyer.
If you’ve ever tossed out a takeout container of food that went uneaten, left your leftovers behind at a restaurant, or let food spoil in the fridge, you’re not alone. But collectively, these everyday habits are adding up to a major environmental crisis.
An estimated 38% of what ends up in Memphis landfills is food-related waste, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). By weight, that’s more than cardboard, plastic, or textiles – and it’s a problem we can actually do something about.
Across Memphis, businesses, caterers, and everyday citizens are beginning to take a closer look at food waste and how to stop it at the source. From local food recovery efforts to public education initiatives, it’s clear that small changes in behavior can lead to measurable reductions in what ends up in the trash.
But to move the needle citywide, we need even more people to understand the problem – and recognize their power to help solve it.
Why food waste matters
When food ends up in a landfill, it doesn’t just “go away.” Instead, it decomposes without oxygen and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. This traps heat in our atmosphere, accelerates climate change, and contributes to air quality issues.
The impact also shows up in our wallets. The average individual American wastes about $800 worth of food annually – money lost to forgotten leftovers, uneaten produce, and overbuying. Tackling this issue is good for both the planet and your budget.
Additionally, wasting food exhausts the energy, water, and labor that went into growing, processing, transporting, and preparing that food. In a county where many families face food insecurity, seeing perfectly edible meals go to waste is not just inefficient – it’s unjust.
And the scale of it is staggering. Nationally, we squander more than 30% of our food supply each year, amounting to over 130 billion pounds of food. In our city, that waste is highly visible in our landfills and invisible on the dinner plates that come up short. In fact, the NRDC estimated that 5,000 tons of food suitable for rescue are available in Memphis each year.
Restaurants and residents: You have a role
The good news? Reducing food waste is a problem we can all take part in solving – whether you’re a business owner, a student, or a home cook.
For restaurants and caterers, food waste often shows up in the form of over-prepped ingredients, uneaten catering trays, or the ever-present overstock. Instead of trashing it, local businesses can partner with food rescue organizations to donate surplus food. Resources like Careit, a free donation-tracking app sponsored by Project Green Fork in Memphis and Shelby County, connect food donors to local nonprofit recipients in real time. Participating in efforts like this lessens landfill waste and helps feed Memphians who need it.
Food businesses can also minimize waste by rethinking portion sizes, improving inventory management, getting creative with surplus ingredients, and training staff on proper food storage and labeling practices. Through these steps, restaurants can make practical changes that lowers waste without cutting corners.
For individuals, food waste reduction starts at home. That can look like meal planning to avoid overbuying, storing food properly to extend freshness, and making inventive dishes with leftovers. Learning how to interpret “best by,” “use by,” and “sell by” dates can also make a big difference, as many foods are safe and delicious well past their printed dates. When food scraps are truly unavoidable, consider composting them either at home or through a local program like The Compost Fairy to keep organic matter out of the landfill and return nutrients to the soil.
What Memphis is doing – and what’s next
Citywide, there are encouraging signs that cutting food waste is gaining momentum. Food recovery efforts at major venues have diverted thousands of pounds of high-quality, uneaten food from the landfill and into the hands of local organizations serving those in need.
In schools, waste audits are helping students and staff better understand the impact of food waste. These audits often involve measuring how much unopened or uneaten food is discarded each day, providing data that can improve menu planning, portioning, and student education.
But there’s still a long way to go. Memphis needs stronger public investment in food waste prevention, composting access, and infrastructure to support large-scale food rescue. We need more businesses to step up as regular food donors and more residents to recognize the costs of throwing out edible food.
A solvable problem
Food waste is something we can address right now, using tools that already exist and partnerships that are already working. Reducing waste doesn’t require reinventing the wheel; it just means thinking a little differently about the food we grow, buy, serve, and share.
In a city where nearly four in 10 landfill-bound materials are food-related, the opportunity is enormous – and so is the responsibility. By changing how we treat food waste, Memphis can lessen its environmental footprint, improve food security, and build a healthier, more equitable community for everyone.
Together, we can take the steps to stop throwing away what could feed our city and start building a future where nothing good goes to waste.
