Just last month in February 2020, after the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the risk assessment of “Disease Outbreak Response System Condition” (DORSCON) alert level has moved from yellow to orange. This has sparked a nation-wide panic buying of essential goods – ranging from food to necessities like toilet paper.

When you bulk buy goods like these, you are “stockpiling”. Stockpiling food for unexpected occasions may seem like a way for us to feel more secure and comfortable about our food supply, allowing us to be less stressed.

However, do you know that if you stockpile, you are buying way more products than one can consume in a timely manner?

In Our Daily Lives.

Of course, this kind of panic-buying doesn’t usually happen so often.

But, when you make your grocery runs, do you often pick up more goods than you need for a period of time – just because the item is having a discount? Or just because you think it is more convenient to get everything now to save the trouble of making another trip?

Promotions Are Everywhere, How Do I Resist?

We understand how tempting promotions are. With promotions running from huge discounts to offers like “Buy One, Get One Free”, it is indeed difficult to resist the urge from getting more items.

After all, we are saving money, right?

This is where most people go wrong. 

When you stockpile on food, you tend to overbuy and overestimate how much food you actually need. Most of the food will either go bad, go past its expiry date or be left forgotten amongst all the other inventories you have at home.

What Can I Do?

To reduce food waste, the best way is to prevent it.

Credits: Unsplash

You can make a list when you are going for a grocery run so you know how much you need to buy, and with the list, you can keep yourself on track and not get distracted by other ongoing promotions for items you may not need!

Additionally, keeping track of the expiry dates of the food items is important as well. A simple tip can be that when you are keeping your groceries, keep those with the closest expiry date near the front of the shelf and those with the latest expiry date at the back of the shelf. This way, you know you will be clearing the food with the earliest expiry date first – reducing your food waste!

Proper storage of food items will also help in reducing food waste. Know which items should go in the fridge, the freeze or be left outside! Storing items correctly will prolong their life span and it won’t go bad as easily!

Check out our guide to understanding the impact of food waste