Monthly Archives: August 2007

Friday Buffet

La Tomatina took place this week. That’s right, the big tomato fight in Buñol, Spain. In addition to being a big ol’ waste of food, it looked kind of dull. Based on this video, I’d say it would get old in, oh, about 30 seconds. — — In the Welcome to Wuh-stah (Worcester, Mass.) department, there’s some […]

August 31, 2007 | Posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Institutional | Comments closed

Capitol Compost

It seems like every day I read that another town in the U.K. has started separating and composting its food waste. Yesterday, it was the Scottish town of Banff (in Aberdeenshire). Here in the States, the good news trickles in less frequently. All the more reason to laud the launching of something like worm compost at North […]

August 30, 2007 | Posted in Composting, Institutional, International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

File under: They don’t make ‘em like they used to

I just read this nice tribute to Clayton Taub, a real mensch who was essentially a one-man food recovery operation. The column describes Taub as having “an intolerance for waste and a passion for helping others.” Is it just me, or are there fewer and fewer folks in America’s younger generations who fit that first description? Your thoughts, […]

August 29, 2007 | Posted in Food Recovery, History and Culture | Comments closed

Grim Reaping

For those of you new to the site, I’ve been researching the food wasted in America’s food chain for more than two years. The work has its highs (food donation research at a Bob Dylan show) and lows (working in a supermarket produce section), but seldom gets boring. That’s because there’s so many areas in our food chain […]

August 28, 2007 | Posted in Farm | Comments closed

The Weekly Waste Word: Dressed for Spoilage

At the beginning of each week, I try to give readers one tip on how to avoid food waste. This week’s advice: Don’t dress a big salad. You can avoid wilty lettuce waste by serving the salad “dry.” With the dressing on the side, diners can disperse it as they see fit. One of my real pet peeves is […]

August 27, 2007 | Posted in Household, Restaurant, The Weekly Waste Word | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

This woman is keeping track of the food she’s throwing out in her Chucked Grub Diary. While she feeds a lot of the food to her chickens (a sound move), you and I can take note of how much food waste the average person makes.   — —   The Diet Pulpit provides an interesting perspective; I’d never conceived of wasted […]

August 24, 2007 | Posted in Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

Should Bread be Repurposed?

Kottke.org brings the bread menu holder to our attention. Le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian chain with franchises in N.Y. and L.A, uses bread with slices to store menus. “Cool idea” is the prevailing sentiment in the commentary below Jason Kottke’s photo of the menu holder on flickr. I have to disagree. While it’s by no means the most flagrant wasting I’ve seen, it sets […]

August 23, 2007 | Posted in History and Culture, Restaurant | Comments closed

Rotten Idea

La Tomatina takes place a week from today in Buñol, Spain. You know, it’s that big tomato fight in Spain. Far be it from me to comment on a traditional cultural event. I’m pretty sure that this is a giant waste of food. There just has to be a better use for tomatoes. Besides, it only dates back to 1944 […]

August 22, 2007 | Posted in International | Comments closed

The Weekly Waste Word: Like the List

At the beginning of each week, I try to give readers one tip on how to avoid food waste. Here’s this week’s advice: Make a shopping list and stick to it. Grocery stores are masterful persuaders. Everything from the music to the lighting to the layout of a supermarket is set up to encourage you to […]

August 21, 2007 | Posted in Supermarket, The Weekly Waste Word | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Quote of the Week: “Ask yourself: are you really going to eat all of that food before it rots? All 28 cubic feet of it?”               –“futurebird,” from her LiveJournal post on refrigerator size — — Here’s some good news from the “Good News Network.” Food waste (among other, even smellier things) can be used to […]

August 17, 2007 | Posted in Friday Buffet, Waste Stream | Comments closed