Page 41 - TNE WORKBOOK

• Here are 4 fresh food box options operating in Canberra. The most sustainable options are the The Food

Co-op veggie box scheme (you pick up your box at ANU and can buy $25 or $50 pre-packed boxes with
seasonal produce and no unnecessary packaging) and the Canberra City Farm pilot food box scheme.

• You could also check out Marley Spoon or Hello Fresh. These two options involve plastic-wrapped
ice packs and quite a lot of packaging (although most of it is biodegradable), so they are much less
environmentally-friendly than picking up your own fresh food or buying in bulk.

• But while taking this approach isn’t nearly as good as cycling to the fresh food market at Fyshwick or
Exhibition Park to do your groceries with canvas bags, the net benefit is that you can reduce the amount
of processed and pre-packaged food you eat. You’ll also eat seasonally and cut down on food waste
(reducing your carbon footprint) as you’ll have the right amount of ingredients needed for your meals.

Plan your meals and only buy what
you need to minimise food waste

• You can choose from a couple of helpful apps that help you to plan your meals in advance, like mealboard.
The Yummly app and website also have a search function that lets you plug in the ingredients you have at
home and suggests recipes that include all of them.

• Here’s a great article on how to get started with meal planning.

• Lastly, make sure your food is visible – if it’s down the bottom of the crisper it’s invisible E.g. get into the
habit of pulling out the crisper from the fridge and setting it on the bench each time you want to make
yourself something to eat, so you can see what’s in there. Also in Canberra’s icy winter - your veggies will
last for several days if you put them in a fruit bowl on the counter top where you’ll see them ripening and
use them automatically because they’re at your fingertips.

Eat more unprocessed food

• Processed food tends to be more expensive, less nutritious, high in sugar and/or fat and has food additives.
Eating less processed food means substituting lunch meats like packaged ham, turkey and bacon for
other healthier foods like fresh fruit and veggies.

• Exchanging processed foods for fresh produce is known to decrease the risk of heart disease and obesity.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation released a landmark report denouncing bacon, hot dogs, sausages,
ham, and other types of processed meat as Group 1 carcinogens. 37

• For any packaged food you buy, start looking at the origin of your food at the supermarket - you can find
out where the food is from by looking at the food labels.

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