Food Matters

In April 2023, DDPHE launched Food Matters residential campaign to encourage busy Denverites to save money and time cooking. The bilingual campaign launched as a pilot with 1,000 randomly selected households in South West Denver neighborhoods.

Each of the households received:

• Clear storage container bin with an “Eat This First” sticker attached to it
• Reusable "East This First" container cling(PDF, 693KB)
• Education on expiration dates(PDF, 488KB)
• Fridge magnet(PDF, 2MB) with food storage tips
• Campaign flyer(PDF, 2MB)

Some of the households will also be asked to provide feedback on the campaign in a survey.

The campaign aims to incentivize participants to reduce the amount of edible, wholesome food that ends up in the trash. Reducing wasted food is one of Denver’s priorities in the Denver Food Vision, a document produced with extensive community input and which sets a goal for the City to reduce wasted food by 57% by 2030. DDPHE hopes that the Food Matters campaign will help bring Denver closer to this goal. DDPHE aims to expand the campaign to more households and neighborhoods in the future. 

Save Money and Make Food Last with These Storage Tips:

• Keep your refrigerator temperature at 37 F
• Apples and citrus: Store in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Place un-bagged in a low-humidity crisper drawer.
• Avocados: Refrigerate once ripe to keep at peak ripeness for several more days or freeze and thaw to use just as you would fresh.
• Banana: Keep on the counter away from other fruits. Peel and freeze any extras. Use frozen bananas in oatmeal and baked goods, or blend until soft and creamy for mock soft-serve ice cream.
• Berries: Store unwashed in the fridge. Berries can be frozen for later use in oatmeal, baked goods, or smoothies. Remember to wash before consuming.
• Bread: Place in a paper bag as plastic encourages mold. Freeze any bread you won’t consume within a few days. To reheat, place frozen bread in toaster or thaw in microwave for 20 seconds.
• Dairy (milk, half & half): Keep in main refrigerator, not the door. Milk products can be frozen to extend shelf life.
• Eggs: Keep in main refrigerator, not the door. Eggs outside of the shell can be frozen and used later, such as egg whites for omelets or egg yolks for desserts.
• Herbs: Remove bands or ties. Store in a damp paper towel within an airtight container. Cilantro and parsley can be kept in water, like cut flowers, in the fridge with a reusable bag on top. Basil can be kept on the counter in a glass of water.
• Leafy greens: Remove bands or ties. Store in a damp paper towel and an airtight container. Use the high humidity crisper drawer.
• Salad greens: For salad in clamshell container, place a paper towel on top of the greens and store the clamshell upside down in the fridge. Replace paper towel when overly wet. Bonus tip: Purchase hardier lettuce greens, such as romaine, which will last longer.
• Wilted greens of any kind can be revived by soaking in cold water for at least 10 minutes. If cold water doesn’t revive wilted greens, even packaged, they can be cooked like spinach.

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