Manage your food inventory @ Home

Comparing some Apps used on Android phones: Groceries, fridge and pantry

Image by rupeshtelang from Pixabay

A sure way to save food at home is by better inventory management - while buying groceries, knowing what goes in the fridge and periodic checks at the pantry. Here I have compared five Apps which can be used with android phones. There are also many available for use in iOS/ windows phones and with web browsers.

I have used scanning as basic criteria while selecting the apps (though one of them does not meet this criteria). In reality this is not absolutely necessary as a textual entry will also serve the purpose, but it is easier to scan a UPC code and populate the details.

A word about dates: The difference between sell by, best by, and use by dates is not fully brought out in any of the apps. None of them are expiry dates though they are stated as such in the apps. These ‘expiry dates’ as stated are user defined and option is for user to decide if they can be used in the kitchen or sent to trash. Ideally in these apps options for recording best by and use by should be available. The knowledge and understanding of this are generally primitive and have deep ramifications on food wastage. All food which has crossed ‘best by’ dates need not be trashed but this is precisely what people are doing. Awareness and education will help on this front.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Best Before, Wonder Fridge and List Ease are ones which can be used free though we need to pay a subscription if we have to remove ads. Kitchen Pal and My Pantry Check are more exhaustive though we have to go for subscription if we go for more than 100 items for the former and for the latter if we need more than one location. In effect, they are paid apps.

Among the free apps listed above, my preference would be Best Before. Both Wonder Fridge and List Ease do not have all the features though they are simple to use.

Among the two paid apps, Kitchen Pal scores more than My Pantry Check on at least two counts: Sharing and use of different units and currencies.

All said and done, a grocery, fridge and pantry inventory require some effort in adding the initial records and thereafter maintaining it to update it. At home, this may be considered cumbersome and not a preferred activity though it is routinely done in commercial establishments. So, here is the challenge - how to we understand and perceive value while using these apps at home. One benefit would be the reduction and food wastage, another would be the ease in managing a kitchen (shopping & not going out of stock) especially when multiple people are involved with it in a family. This also paves the way to consider apps of similar nature with more features e.g. provide recipes for items which are available or may get wasted, linking to groceries in the area, providing information of what is available in various groceries in the area etc.(a definite help while shopping)

References

The Best Grocery List and Pantry Management Apps - Meet Penny

10 Apps to Help You Organize Your Fridge & Pantry (compactappliance.com)

Food Product Dating | Food Safety and Inspection Service (usda.gov)

What the Best-By, Use-By and Sell-By Date Means on Your Food | Trusted Since 1922 (rd.com)