Save Food, Spend Less Challenge 2026

Hennepin County | Ramsey County | Washington County

October 1 - October 31, 2026

Jaz's points

0 TODAY
14 THIS WEEK
119 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

17

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

3.1

pounds

food waste prevented

Jaz's actions

Shopping

Skip the Cart

Bigger carts make us feel like we need to fill them! Use a hand basket to improve grocery store discipline and prevent over-purchasing.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Shopping

Stick to Your Grocery List

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Shopping

Source Local Foods

I will buy locally grown food from my grocery store and make 1 meal(s).

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Attend an Event

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

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Planning

Sign up for Fridge Check Fridays

I will sign up for Fridge Check Friday emails, sent by Hennepin County but open to everyone, to prompt me to check my fridge for food that needs to be used up and for hacks on storing food to keep it fresh.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Keep all food out of the garbage

In addition to using up my edible food, I will separate and compost my food scraps using backyard composting, curbside pickup, or a drop-off program.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Cooking

Swap This for That

If I am missing an ingredient for a recipe I will find a substitute I have on hand and use that instead.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Planning

Create a Household Favorites List

I will create a cookbook or recipe collection of go-to meals for my household to make meal planning easier.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

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?
Jaz Thomasian 10/12/2026 1:16 PM

Chips never go on the list, but somehow they often go into the basket. Sometimes I realize I haven't really meal planned for snacks, so then there's this question mark that can lead to extra purchases. Planning for snacks could help!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Shopping

Reflecting on how your grocery trips have gone in the past: do you fill up your cart? Do you think you can fit everything you need into a smaller cart or a basket?
Jaz Thomasian 10/12/2026 1:14 PM

Using a basket in the past has definitely helped me size down my shopping trips. These days, my reusable shopping bags do a similar thing. If they're getting heavy, I think twice before going for that extra something I see in the store. I've also enjoyed not having a big cart to navigate through the aisles! My shopping trips feel easier for that increased mobility.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community

How has your awareness of the food you waste changed since you started separating it from other trash? Did anything surprise you?
Jaz Thomasian 10/06/2026 6:35 AM

I definitely notice when I'm taking the compost out more frequently. That said, because it's going into the compost, I have to remind myself sometimes that it's still food waste, that even better would be using those scraps, leftovers, etc. before they become unusable.

Read More
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?
Jaz Thomasian 10/05/2026 2:14 PM

This doesn't surprise me, since without a meal plan, its easy to buy things I don't end up using. My meal plan helps me avoid food waste, but the bigger benefit for me is that I spend way less time shopping. So I'm saving money and time, which I can put toward doing fun things like planting native plants in my yard.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Cooking

How comfortable are you with making ingredient swaps? Where do you go to find substitutes if you don't have what you need?
Jaz Thomasian 10/05/2026 2:11 PM

I'm pretty comfortable making swaps, since I do this frequently to avoid lactose and garlic. I usually go online to look up substitutions for baking, since that's where I'm less familiar with how swapped ingredients might behave.

Read More