A turkey and cheese sandwich: a simple and fulfilling snack that is even simpler to make. But how upsetting can it be when you take out the cheese only to see that the “sell by” date is dated to yesterday? Recently, however, people have begun to realize that not all food is expired when the date claims it is.

The “sell by” dates are imposed by industry, not any government health agency. They choose the dates based on when the food will be at its peak of freshness, meaning a few days after the expiration date the food can still be perfectly edible.

A problem then emerges when an average American’s naiveté towards food expiration leads them to throw out food that could be consumed with no risk of illness whatsoever.

Dana Gunders, staff scientist in the food and agricultural program of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), did some math and found that if America were to cut its food waste by just 15%, we would save enough food to feed 25 million Americans.

But the problem is not entirely on us as citizens. Supermarkets have established their own code that their food must suffice in order to be put on the shelf. Something as simple as a banana being too curved can mean it will never be eaten. And it is the combination of supermarket waste and citizen waste that is the reason 40% of all food grown and harvested in America is wasted. 40% is a colossal figure — essentially enough to keep 100 million people fed.

So what can we do? How do we stop wasting food that could feed nations? Well, step one is inspect your food before mindlessly tossing it. Gunders stated that a product such as milk will taste and smell bad long before it will cause any harm to you. Look at the food itself rather than the date posted.

Another simple way to help is buying funny-looking produce. The food will taste the same, but not many people will want disfigured food, meaning it will go to waste.

Our high school has a commendable strategy with the cafeteria food. Tom Groh, one of the food service workers, claims that they “throw virtually nothing away. What gets thrown away is coming from the students.” The à la carte option allows the cafeteria to reuse food from previous meals they were unable to sell resulting in little to no waste.

So maybe instead of tossing that perfectly good cheese, enjoy your turkey sandwich and eat it too.  Even the simplest save is the first step to clearing up America’s waste.