What does the Bible say about wasting food?
Here's the answer:
The Bible says it is not good to waste food because it is a gift from God that can help others.
While wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites grumbled against God. They wanted to go back to Egypt because they “at least” had scraps of food while they were slaves to Egypt. In response to this grumbling, God gave them manna from heaven (Exodus 16:3). Manna was bread that would fall from heaven and provide all of their nutrients for the day.
Everyone had enough bread because it would fall from heaven every day except on the Sabbath. On the day before the Sabbath, everyone was to gather extra of what they needed in order to have enough food on the Sabbath. This teaches us the importance of having enough food without wasting any. Jesus Himself told His disciples to gather the leftover bread after He fed the five thousand (John 6:12).
In this way, we see that Jesus did not want any food to be wasted. He wanted to make sure everyone had enough food. If you have extra food, it is important to practice helping others. You can donate extra food to food banks or crisis centers. You can be the hands and feet of Jesus by donating any extra food. This is a great thing to do with extra food instead of wasting it.
Bible Truth
"The Israelites said to them, 'We wish the Lord had put us to death in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat. We ate all the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert. You must want this entire community to die of hunger'" (Exodus 16:3).
"When all of them had enough to eat, Jesus spoke to his disciples. 'Gather the leftover pieces,' he said. 'Don’t waste anything.' So they gathered what was left over from the five barley loaves. They filled 12 baskets with the pieces left by those who had eaten” (John 6:12–13).
