Category Archives: History and Culture

Stocking Stuffers

You tell ’em, Courtland Milloy: Check out any restaurant dumpster in downtown Washington or the trash cans along any street on garbage collection day, and you’re likely to find enough wasted food to fill those pantries to overflowing. — — Florida’s CBS 12 wants you to use canned vegetables to avoid waste. I’m with them […]

December 24, 2008 | Also posted in Household, Hunger, International | Comments closed

Holiday Planning

With Hannukah already here and Christmas just about, it’s worth looking at this grocery shopping psychology study on “cabinet castaways.” The study, an oldie but a goodie, found that 63% of unused products were bought for specific purposes: When people buy products for specific recipes or specific occasions, they tend to be overly optimistic…After buying […]

December 23, 2008 | Also posted in Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

This columnist’s pantry check yields waste and a New Year’s resolution. Plus, tales of gangster donations! — — I have only one rule here at Wasted Food: When a Danish dairy producer reduces waste through a process I don’t quite understand, I link to it. — — If you’re not yet sick of me, here’s […]

December 19, 2008 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household, International | Comments closed

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

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 | Also posted in Household, Hunger, International | Comments closed

Leftover Boxes Left Out

On a recent visit to Noodles & Company, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that they set out their take-away boxes next to the cup lids and napkins. I’m not sure if this occurs at all locations of the noodle chain, but I’m all for it! First, it encourages the saving of leftovers by preventing […]

October 28, 2008 | Also posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Putting a Face on Waste?

I woke up cold this morning, which means that it’s time to turn on the heat and buy a few pumpkins. On the latter, I recently received a tweet from Stef at The Cupcake Project asking whether rotting jack-o-lanterns bother me because it’s food going to waste. Great question. Since I love carving pumpkins and […]

October 20, 2008 | Also posted in Personal | Comments closed

Editorializing

As the leaves fall and the political temperature rises, I’d like to talk politics for a minute. (Cue the soaring eagle graphic.) In last week’s debate, Barack Obama and John McCain both whiffed in their respective responses to the question of what sacrifices they would ask Americans to make. In short, neither would impose on […]

October 14, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Food Fights

Whoa. I picked up the Sunday Times Magazine yesterday and was shocked to find this photo of food being wasted (and I mean wasted!): First, it’s an impressive photograph. It’s striking art, for sure. But given that the Food Issue discusses how we should (re)value food, the photo on its cover has the wrong tone. […]

October 13, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Sometimes the best intentions–as in bringing food to those who’ve recently lost a loved one–can lead to waste. An interesting look at a specific instance of culturally-driven food waste. — — America’s Second Harvest is having a tough time. That’s not good news, as food banks are going to have more and more customers as the […]

October 10, 2008 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed