Save the Food Challenge

Be a part of the Hastings area Save the Food Challenge. You'll get the resources you need to reduce food waste and start saving time and money. Win weekly prizes for logging food waste amounts.

To participate

• Sign up by Feb. 26 online, by phone or email
  Online sign-up
  Email: foodchallenge@co.dakota.mn.us  
  Phone: 952-891-7043
• Attend a short in-person or virtual training (see dates below)
• Track your food waste Mar. 1-28 (tools provided)

Participants must attend an in-person or online info session:

• Sunday, Feb. 23, 4-5 p.m. (online)
• Wednesday, Feb. 26, 3:30–4:30 p.m., Pleasant Hill Library, Hastings (in person)
• Wednesday, Feb. 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m., Pleasant Hill Library, Hastings (in person)

If you want to attend the session virtually, you will receive a link to view the session online when you register.

Week 1: Collect and measure wasted food

Use the Track What you Toss sheet as a guide with your bucket. The goal this week is to get a baseline of how much food your family typically tosses. Don’t use any of your new tools yet.

Weeks 2-4: Try out some tools and tips

Keep collecting your edible food waste like Week 1. Now try out some of the tools you learned about during the training. Also check the Prevent Food Waste page or Savethefood.com.

• Kitchen Inventory
• Food Storage Guide 
• Meal Planner 
• Eat First bin 
• Phone app like Allrecipes or BigOven
• Prep now for later

Using your bucket

1. Put all your edible food waste into your bucket.
2. Each Saturday evening or Sunday morning, record the amount of food in your bucket. If your bucket gets full before the end of the week, add the volume to your tracking sheet and empty it.
3. Empty your bucket each week. Your collected food will go wherever you would have normally put it before the Challenge (trash, compost bin, etc.).
4. Report your totals online each week. This will automatically enter you to win a fun prize worth up to $30.

What to collect

Any food you could have eaten including:

• Leftovers (from home cooking or take-out)
• Spoiled meat
• Stale grains or bread
• Lettuce, fruit, vegetables gone bad
• Spoiled or moldy dairy, yogurt, cheese 

Track these liquids by their container volume

• Milk
• Juice

Don't collect

• Fruit peels and rinds
• Eggshells
• Coffee or coffee grounds
• Tea or teabags
• Soda or water
• Bones
• Shells from nuts
• Beer, wine, liquor