Monthly Archives: November 2008

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! I share my main thoughts on the holiday in a guest post on the Well blog over at The New York Times’ site. But here are three more: More than anything, I hope you enjoy and appreciate the food we’re fortunate enough to have. After that, please try to save leftovers from the […]

November 27, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

The Weight of Waste

These are exciting times, as colleges from Alaska to Florida are making efforts to reduce their food waste. As part of Operation Dine and Dish, environmental science students at the University of Alaska Anchorage, are displaying cafeteria food waste in a clearn bin. The student-run study will report its findings to the school sustainability council, which will […]

November 26, 2008 | Posted in College | Comments closed

Farm Aid

What’s better than farm fresh? Farm fresh for free. Last weekend, Platteville, Colorado’s Miller Farms opened its fields to all comers to harvest their remaining potatoes, carrots and leeks. The Free Pick Weekend attracted a staggering 40,000 people who harvested 600,000 pounds of food. Miller Farms, a large, family operation that grows a variety of […]

November 25, 2008 | Posted in Farm, Food Recovery, Hunger | Comments closed

Monday Morning Crumbs

If you’re thinking about donating a cooked turkey, don’t add stuffing! — — I’m all for avoiding waste, but I think this Thanksgiving tip goes a bit too far: Try and cook just the right amount of food for your family and friends because nothing is worse than wasted food. There should be a bit […]

November 21, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture, Household, Hunger, International | Comments closed

Numbers

Our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just published their October 2008 data and it’s mixed news. Overall, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was down 1 percent from September. Good for pocketbooks, but bad for the economy. One D word–‘deflation’–has economists fretting about another–‘depression.’ OK, OK, what about food? Looking at the specifics, […]

November 20, 2008 | Posted in Household, Stats | Comments closed

Wal-Mart Reinstates Food Donations

Big food waste news: Wal-Mart will donate 91 million pounds of fresh food to Feeding America (née America’s Second Harvest). The program is an expansion of an earlier pilot donation program. What The Times article doesn’t say and Wal-Mart is happy to sweep under the rug, is that some of its stores used to donate […]

November 19, 2008 | Posted in Food Recovery, Supermarket | Comments closed

R’s ‘R Us

When I wrote about the 3 R’s last week, I guess I missed the fourth one: Rot. Elementary schools in one district in Minnesota are teaching about that forgotten fourth by having students separate and compost lunch room waste. Sure, ‘Recycle,’ the third R, covers composting in some definitions. But “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot” is […]

November 18, 2008 | Posted in Composting, School | Comments closed

Monday Reading

I’ve been traveling this weekend and Monday, so I don’t have a proper post today. But I wanted to pass along this interesting article on Washingtonians who lived through the Great Depression. These folks have wisdom to share and, unfortunately, some of it might become quite relevant: The common adage of the time, McKenzie recalled, […]

November 17, 2008 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here are some ideas on Obama’s food policy. Strange that there’s no mention of a Food Waste Czar. He must want to keep it hush-hush. — — Reminder: Nov 26 is your last chance to submit your comments on the proposed Green Seal Environmental Standard for Restaurants. — — OK, University of New Mexico, it’s […]

November 14, 2008 | Posted in College, Composting, General, Processing Plants, Restaurant, Trayless | Comments closed

Imperfection Appreciated

It’s a new day for Europe’s huddled masses of non-uniform produce. Yesterday, the European Union announced it will ease shape and size restrictions on 26 fruits and vegetables, listed here. From Milan to Minsk Madrid, curvy cucumbers and asymmetrical asparagus are dancing in the streets. Whether they’re classified as imperfect, too big, too small, different […]

November 13, 2008 | Posted in International | Comments closed