This fall, residents of Issaquah and Sammamish participated in a study tracking how much of their food was wasted over a period of four weeks. At the end, the average participant had thrown out a full quarter of their food and drinks.

The small-scale study — conducted by the county’s Solid Waste Division and dubbed King County’s Food: Too Good To Waste — was conducted among 36 households and included two Issaquah households, three in Sammamish and six in Bellevue.

The participants were asked to go about their food use habits normally and measure what they took in and what they threw out.

Wendy Wright of Sammamish said she saw major food waste after preparing big meals for a party, only to find the guests weren’t interested. She said she would get her guests involved in the menu planning process in the future. The experience also encouraged her to make other changes to her daily habits.

“My family has signed up for yard waste collection just for composting everything we have been throwing out and have bought containers and ecobags to make collection easier,” she said.

Bellevue participant Jina Kim said her family has started a leftovers night to stem waste.

County Waste offers several other tips to fight food waste in the home.

A realistic shopping list is a first defense. Leftovers can often  be repurposed into casseroles, frittatas, stir fries, soups or smoothies. Even aging produce can find new life in baked goods, sauces or smoothies.

And to keep food from going south in the first place? Borrow a method from grocery stores: move soon-to-expire foods to the front of the fridge to make sure you grab them first.