Save Food, Spend Less Challenge 2026

Hennepin County | Ramsey County | Washington County

October 1 - October 31, 2026

"Reducing food waste one action at a time!"

Sam's points

0 TODAY
30 THIS WEEK
313 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

9.3

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

5.4

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

1.0

advocacy action

completed
UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended

Sam's actions

Planning

Create a Weekly Meal Plan

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu of meals and ingredients for my household of 2.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Keep a Food Inventory

I will take a fridge and pantry inventory to stay up to date with what I have at home before I go grocery shopping.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Shopping

Eat Before Shopping

I will resist impulse buys by eating a snack or meal before going grocery shopping. Those who grocery shop on an empty stomach spend 64% more than not-hungry shoppers.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Cooking

Make Soup Broth

I will store vegetable scraps or bones in my freezer and use them to make veggie stock or bone broth. I will make 2 batches.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Attend an Event

I will attend an event from the Save Food, Spend Less Challenge - Calendar of Events.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Shopping

Stick to Your Grocery List

I will only purchase the items on my grocery list and avoid impulse purchases.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Storage

Create an Eat First Area

I will create an "Eat First" area in my fridge to prioritize food that needs to be used right away for my household of 2.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Shopping

Support Imperfection

I will intentionally buy ugly produce at the grocery store, farmers market, or sign up for an ugly produce CSA box.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Watch a Documentary About Food

I will watch 1 videos or documentaries to learn about the scope and scale of food waste in this country.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Get Social

I will share information about saving food and the actions that I am taking on social media.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Sam Ferguson 10/10/2026 10:06 AM

Ramsey County and The gifting Grove offered a painting class with paints made from food waste like onion skins, leftover wine, coffee, grounds, and more! It was such an amazing class, and I learned a lot.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Shopping

What are some of the things you typically buy that you weren't on your list? How do you think you might limit some of those purchases?
Sam Ferguson 10/07/2026 10:27 AM

A lot of snacks. Mostly Cheetos. Or else I’ll just buy random veggies and pray something comes to me on how to use them. I will say, I usually do eat the Cheetos. Probably the same day. Oops!!

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- Elise Torgerson 10/07/2026 7:59 PM
  
  Seconded on the Cheetos... I just had a mini bag of them at work today, lol. Well, at least they aren't going to waste, haha! Also, I hear you on the veggies... if I may say so; one of my favorite things to do for veggie snacks is to just add salad dressing. Carrot matchsticks and celery sticks, cucumber slices and broccoli florets... all can be eaten by hand with a dab of peanut Thai dressing, or Italian dressing, or balsamic vinaigrette... or even a simple salsa! My mom and I also used to eat fresh tomato slices with nothing on them but salt (and occasionally, season-all). The pressure to make a vegetable into something more complex can sometimes get super strong (especially if you like to roast them!), but don't let it sway you!!! Most everything can be simple and delicious :) buuuut in the meantime, Cheetos also sound like a pretty delish alternative, lol!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Planning

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money? How has meal planning helped you avoid waste?
Sam Ferguson 10/07/2026 10:24 AM

That’s so much money! I’d love to save that and redo the bathroom at my house instead 🤩 Meal planning has been super helpful to saving money. I go to the grocery store way less because I have all of the ingredients on hand, and it reduces the amount of unnecessary items I buy with no plan

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

How did you share your food-waste-reduction journey? What was the reaction to your posts?
Sam Ferguson 10/07/2026 10:21 AM

I’ve been sharing all of R&E’s posts about food waste reduction and those have been performing great with my network. Lots of positive feedback!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Planning

Are there food items you have been better about using up and not wasting since you started keeping an inventory of what's in your fridge?
Sam Ferguson 10/07/2026 10:14 AM

It allows me to better plan meals for the week knowing what I have in the fridge. I can look at the list and decide what to make!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Shopping

What can you do to make sure you never shop hungry?
Sam Ferguson 10/07/2026 10:12 AM

Keep snacks on me! Have a little snack before eating whether it’s on the road on my way home or doing the shopping on the weekend when I’ve had a full meal.

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Sam Ferguson 9/29/2026 11:47 AM

Excited to get started on this challenge!

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