Loadshedding has taken its toll in various ways, food loss being fairly high on the list. Thus it has become incredibly important to have a backup plan to keep food fresh despite load shedding.
Long power outages result in spoilt fresh foods due to a lack of refrigeration, while blackouts over mealtimes cause families to abandon their usual meal plans because they simply can’t cook their food.
Food loss and waste are a drain on already limited household resources as it has become more difficult to safely store foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat in fridges and freezers. This can lead to less bulk buying, which is important for households with limited budgets, and also increase the amount of food that is thrown away.
As it is clear that load shedding is not going to ease up any time soon, families need to shop and store foods somewhat differently. Rediscover Dairy has gathered real-life #loadshedding #wastewise tips from South Africans on social media who are trying to mitigate the impact of load shedding on their food budgets.
How to keep food fresh:
- Choose UHT milk products.
- After purchase, divide perishables such as hard cheeses and butter into smaller portions. Keep only what you need for the day in your fridge, and freeze the rest.
- Keep the fridge door closed during load-shedding hours.
- Move dairy, meat and leftover foods to the top shelf of your freezer during load-shedding hours.
- Use sour milk, yoghurt and cream as an ingredient in baked goods or meals.
- If you know you can’t use certain foods before their use-by-dates, donate them rather than throw them away.
- Set up a cooler box with ice bricks for perishable foods such as milk, yoghurt and cheese during load shedding. You can also fill empty milk bottles with water, freeze them and use them as cooling aids in the fridge or cooler box.
“It’s a basic of life to make the most out of your food budget, particularly during hard times. We also need to address the need to provide our families with daily healthy, balanced meals that include all the food groups. So, we need to pay more attention to how we store different foods effectively as well as understand the difference between best-before and use-by labelling[i]. Pivoting to long-life options is much smarter than reducing your consumption of imported foods. So, carefully consider preserved and heat-treated foods so that your family is enjoying a variety of foods every day, regardless of load shedding
For more advice and inspiration, visit www.rediscoverdairy.co.za.
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