Reduce, reuse, recycle. So many of us are familiar with this slogan! If you’re like me, you most often think of this phrase when you’re talking about recycling. But let’s not forget the first word of the phrase: reduce! That’s the first and most impactful step in lessening impact on the environment.

An easy thing we can do to live more sustainably and responsibly is to reduce the amount of food that we waste. In developed countries, people tend to waste A LOT of food. In the United States, it is estimated that we waste 30-40% of our food supply. This is incredibly sad considering that there are 795 MILLION people in the world who don’t have enough food. Not to mention, this food is then piling up in landfills where it is taking up space, releasing toxic gases, and keeping perfectly good organic material and nutrients from returning to the soil and food chain.

I was really excited recently to learn about a free app called Food Companion that helps people reduce food waste by tracking the food you have in your household. It also allows you to build a grocery list and helps you figure out what to eat for dinner, which is a LIFE SAVER (typed by someone who, just today, spent 30 minutes agonizing with my husband about what we wanted to eat for dinner. #indecisive. This app is for us.).