Save Food, Spend Less Challenge 2026

Hennepin County | Ramsey County | Washington County

October 1 - October 31, 2026

shane's points

0 TODAY
35 THIS WEEK
291 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

30

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

13

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

9.0

zero-waste meals

consumed

shane's actions

Cooking

Set a Timer

I will set a timer to keep me on track with kitchen tasks and cooking and baking times so that I don't ruin food.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Kids

Talk About Wasting Food

I will have a discussion with my 2 children about the importance of not wasting food.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Planning

Plan a Leftovers Day

I will plan a meal to use up leftovers by creating a tasty smorgasbord or using a recipe that repurposes them.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Storage

Organize My Refrigerator

I will organize my refrigerator to maximize shelf life based on the temperature and humidity of different spots.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Planning

Make Time for Meal Prep

I will set aside time to prepare meals in advance.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Storage

Deciphering Date Labels

I will learn about food labels and not throw food out just based on the date on the package, but instead check the smell and color to see if it has gone bad.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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 01 batches.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Storage

Learn About Food Storage

I will learn about food storage and store food based on best practices to keep it from spoiling before it is used.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cooking

Taste Test Trial

When I try a new food or recipe, I will only make a small amount first to make sure my household likes it.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Storage

Did you find that you were storing food incorrectly? Which items have you changed?
shane Flanigan 10/09/2026 6:10 AM

for the most part we were doing things correctly. fruit was our main correction. just keeping fruit on the counter and eating it before it goes bad. didn't no putting it in the fridge when it was ripe was the correct way.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Storage

Did you find that you were storing things in a spot that wasn't a good fit? Which items have you changed?
shane Flanigan 10/09/2026 6:00 AM

I figured i would have a lot to reorganize but our fridge was mostly correct so that's good. couple things to move around and

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Storage

Did you know that not all food labeling means the same thing? How have you changed your habits to decide if food is still safe to eat?
shane Flanigan 10/08/2026 6:44 AM

looking at color smell and also what the product is when it was opened. A lot of factors play in to if the food is expired or not. labels are for the companies producing the and don't necessarily mean that its correct.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Cooking

Did you find any recipes that your family loved and you want to make again? What were they?
shane Flanigan 10/07/2026 6:26 AM

we made a chicken pot pie casserole with red lobster cheddar bay biscuits as the topper it was pretty good . even our cat tried to steal some.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Kids

How did your conversation go? What kinds of things did your children ask about or find important?
shane Flanigan 10/02/2026 1:20 PM

I have a 2 and 5 year old so about as good as you would think. its work in progress. eating all your food is anormal routine in our family. we small portions and they can ask for more but only if they ate everything.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Cooking

Have you ever made soup broth from scratch before? What kinds of vegetables do you have on hand to put in?
shane Flanigan 10/01/2026 7:31 AM

we save the bones from the different meals we make. our go to are the rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. cheap quick and easy when your busy. Meat can go into a variety of meals an we boil the bones, fat and juices and some of meat with water salt pepper, celery, carrots, onions , garlic . Boil for a few hours at least then strain the bones . we usually make soup right away after the broth is done.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Cooking

How has using a timer changed your kitchen routine?
shane Flanigan 10/01/2026 7:04 AM

Its super important and helpful , with my kids running around and there's always stuff to do multitasking is a must. we set timers to to ensure the routine is kept. with out timers i would have burned plenty of meals , or got dinner started to late. timers make things move smoothly.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Planning

What kinds of foods do you like to eat as leftovers? If you or your household members don't like eating leftovers, are there any foods you would be more willing to try than others?
shane Flanigan 10/01/2026 6:42 AM

My family isn't very picky so we eat all left overs. Our favorites are pastas they seem to taste better next day, soups, grilled meats and veggies even though they don't often make it to left overs.

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- Julie DURR 10/01/2026 6:45 AM
  
  I reuse the leftovers in a soup or an omelet. Or a fast and easy wrap of some sort.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Planning

Do you have days when you don't have time to spend making food? How has meal prep helped one those days?
shane Flanigan 10/01/2026 6:34 AM

Since my job change I'm no longer getting off work at 1pm I'm getting off at 4:30, I'm on the same schedule as my family. i have lost the few hours i had to prep for dinner or get missing items. Its been a lot more difficult to get dinner done at a decent time. Prepping meals take a lot of stress out of it makes it easy to keep our routine.

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- Julie DURR 10/01/2026 6:47 AM
  
  I usually peel carrots or wash veggies in advance and have them prepped ready to toss in a pan or a dish. It makes a fast stir fry or soup of some sort.
  
  Read More