Remote Sustainability

Gather available food items from your refrigerator or freezer that include dairy, protein, fruits, and vegetables. Focus on items that are about to expire or should be used soon. Try to find a variety including butter, eggs, milk, one fruit, 2-3 vegetables, and one protein so you will have options and some items left to store for later. 2. Obtain a shelf stable pantry item such as: canned beans, canned tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, various herbs, spices and seasonings. Students will quickly learn to appreciate the longer expiration dates of these items.

Look at shelf stable pantry items such as: canned beans, canned tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce, rice, pasta, flour, sugar, various herbs, spices and seasonings.

3. As a group, look over the items available for 3-5 minutes. ● Compare the items as to where they were stored, why they were stored in that location, etc. ● Check the list of ingredients. Are there preservatives added? ● Is there an expiration date? You may wish for students to make a data table containing the list of food items and their observations. Look over the items available for 3-5 minutes. ● Compare the items as to where they were stored, why they were stored in that location, etc. ● Check the list of ingredients. Are there preservatives added? ● Is there an expiration date? 4. Assess the Cost Sheet of the perishable items (the first two columns are completed based on food items purchased for the lab). This sheet is available in the resource section of this lesson. You do not need to make it up yourself. ● All perishable items were purchased two days ago. ● Refer to pages 4-9 of this Food Storage Chart and Still Tasty website. ● Determine which perishable items need to be used first based on cost, shelf life, and versatility. ● Complete the last three columns of the Cost Sheet. This data will be necessary for the next several steps of this lesson so stress to the students the importance of it. Determine the use by dates. ● All perishable items were purchased two days ago. ● Refer to pages 4-9 of this Food Storage Chart and Still Tasty website. ● Determine which perishable items need to be used first based on cost, shelf life, and versatility. ● Complete the last three columns of the Cost Sheet Assess the Cost Sheet of the perishable items (the first two columns are completed based on food items purchased for the lab). 5. Determine the use by dates.