Cross-utilization is an art form I hope more Americans can rediscover. Our ancestors were adept at using as many parts of the product as they could, knowing that it might not be so easy to come by later on down the road.
As an industry, we struggle to wrest shoppers’ attention away from consistently affordable CPG alternatives. We watch as fresh food spoils, forgotten in fridges, and see the reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that estimate food waste accounts for between 30 and 40 percent of the food supply.*
To compound the challenge, earlier this year, the producer price index (PPI) went up somewhat significantly**, bucking economists’ previous forecasts and suggesting potential cost hikes on the way for shoppers.
So, what’s the industry to do? Inflation, unfortunately, is outside of our control, but we know the cross-utilization of the fruits and vegetables we grow better than anyone. If we’re able to effectively convey that buying a bag of potatoes is better than buying the CPG alternative, we’ll have won half the battle.
Suppliers have done a great job of integrating QR codes into their packaging to direct shoppers to recipes, usage tips, and more, but it will take an effort at the retail level to effectively convey the message that buying a bag of potatoes is better than buying the CPG alternative.
For example, potatoes can be used to make homemade gnocchi, potato bread, and croquettes, which won’t tire anyone’s palate, and shoppers can even save the potato skins for use in a vegetable stock.
Cross-utilization can become a fixture of American life once more, if only we do our part to help it along. 
