How to Have a Waste-Free Picnic

Packing for a waste-free summer picnic is easier than you might think. The hardest part may just be finding a basket or bag that’s big enough to hold all your goodies. 

Eat seasonally

To clarify, you should eat daily. But if you want your daily eats to support local farms and be at their peak flavor, try eating according to what’s in season. This summer’s produce lineup stars:

• 🍓 Strawberries
• 🍉 Melon
• 🍋 Citrus
• 🍅 Tomatoes
• 🍑 Peaches
• 🍍 Pineapple
• 🥝 Golden kiwis
• 🍒 Cherries
• 🌶 Peppers

Skip plastic containers

Head to the farmers market before your picnic or pick produce from Imperfect that comes in its own biodegradable “packaging” like peels and rinds. If you’re packing food, your sandwich doesn’t need to last forever; it just needs to make it to the park, so consider these options:

Food Storage Products That Help Reduce Waste

In your kitchen and beyond.

Easy Homemade Beeswax Wraps

An easy and stylish way to cut down on single-use plastics.

7 Tips for Storing Cheese Properly

Keep your cheddar better with these tips for storing cheese.

Recipes

Spent coffee grounds, an extra onion-half, and the heels from a loaf of bread are no longer burdens but an opportunity for a waste-free picnic spread.  

Upcycled Mocha Chip Brownies

Your coffee grounds have more to offer than you might think.

A Frittata for a lot-a Leftovers

An extra onion half and a lumpy tomato are no longer burdens but an opportunity to make a fancy breakfast frittata. 

Waffled PB&J 

This recipe makes even the heels of your loaf of bread something to look forward to.

Fruit infused water

Not so much a recipe as it is a great idea. Instead of cans and bottles, pack fruit infused water in Mason jars

Snacks to stuff into a big old tote bag

Look for these easy-to-pack snacks next time you’re shopping with Imperfect!

Organic Chocolatey Banana Nut Trail Mix 

Leftover cashew pieces and not-quite-ripe bananas join chunks of chocolate for this organic trek mix.

Yogurt Covered Pretzels with Sprinkles

 It’s a sweet snack that keeps leftover rainbow sprinkles from going to waste.

Fruit Strips & Bits

When fruit gets dried and cut into fruit bars, perfectly tasty little ends, pieces, strips, and strings get left behind. So we gathered them up!

Garlic and Herb Roasted Cashews

Fair Trade cashews roasted to golden brown perfection, tossed with organic garlic and speckled with just about every herb in the garden.