Friday Buffet

Who’s up for some Slip ‘n Slide Split Pea ‘n Slide?? Is sliding through food some sort of Idaho cultural tradition? Didn’t think so. (HT to Katy)
split pea soup. photo by stu_spivack via creative commons

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I never thought I’d write the words Brian and Boitano on this blog, but this page from Toronto Life has news on the ex-skater’s cooking show and Approved Food, a British site that sells out-of-code items that I previously wrote about.

While its great that this food is being used, I wonder how much it cuts into food donations. Then again, there aren’t many food recovery groups in Britain.

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The Green Party wrote about food waste. Does that mean we’ll see food waste written into its 2012 Platform?

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Finally, this deleted scene from The Office has a food recovery moment toward the end. Phyllis mentions that she brings leftover muffins from her book club to the office, rather than letting them be thrown out. And then Andy…voices his opinion on the matter. (HT to Matt)

November 13, 2009 | Posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Delving Deeper into UK Waste

Not content with their excellent 2008 study on waste throughout the food chain in Britain, the semi-governmental group WRAP just released a more detailed study on household food waste.

This is a pretty big deal in these parts, and I’ll be making my way through the study in the coming days. In the meantime, here are several key findings:

–Households waste 25% of food purchased (by weight).

–More than 60% of home food waste was avoidable.

–That avoidable waste comes at a cost of £12 billion annually (about $20 billion).

–More than half of the avoidable waste occurred because it wasn’t used in time. Preparing and/or serving too much made up most of the rest.

–Fresh veggies and salads are the most often wasted (23% of waste)

One other bit–the study contains what could be the understatement of the year:

The issue of food and drink waste has moved up the social and political agenda in the UK in recent years, spurred in part by the publication of detailed information on the amount and types of waste produced (The Food We Waste report, WRAP, May 2008).

November 11, 2009 | Posted in General, International, Stats | Comments closed

Recess First!

A looong time ago, I wrote about the idea of having recess before lunch. The idea being that when kids eat after exercising, they’re hungrier and don’t waste as much. Plus, the allure of recess doesn’t push them to skip half of their lunch.

Well, the idea recently popped up again in the form of an editorial from Laurel Anderson, of the Orfalea Foundation. It seems the California-based group has a Recess First campaign that’s part of the s’Cool Food Initiative. Then again, there’s also the Recess Before Lunch initiative.

courtesy of Orfalea FoundationUnderstandably, both efforts have the goal of improved classroom performance that comes with eating a decent lunch and having had time to cool down after playing. Yet, both also recognize the significant side effect of recess first: less food waste.

Washington State’s Ethan Bergman has studied the topic and found that students waste about 30 percent less when recess comes first. Given the better classroom performance, enhanced nutrition and–last but somewhat least–diminished food waste, why haven’t more schools switched? Inertia?

When I had the chance to speak with Bergman at the American Dietetic Association conference, he told me that the word is slowly getting out there. He guessed that the percentage of schools with recess before lunch is probably about 10 percent.

Still, that leaves plenty of room for improvement. After all, I don’t see the downside. Does anyone have experience with this topic?

November 9, 2009 | Posted in School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

British retailer Marks & Spencer has a fun food waste game on its sweet Plan A site. Problem is, every time I cook something in the game, the little Playmobil people don’t like it and throw it away. Or is that the point of the game?
photo by scorpions and centaurs via creative commons

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Here’s a fascinating look at cafeteria food waste in an elementary school in Asheville. Now that is a columnist doing his homework.

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A few Malaysian memories of frugality never hurts…

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Farther South, the Australia Institute has just released a study on food waste there. Aussie households (well, the people in them) throw out $5.2 billion each year. You can download the full study here.

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The UK group Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) plans to move its attention further “upstream,” to promote better use of resources. That’s cool, just as long as you keep Love Food, Hate Waste up and running.

November 6, 2009 | Posted in Friday Buffet, International, School | Comments closed

Eventful Food Recovery

I know runners and bikers are wiped out after completing long events, but maybe they’re not all that…hungry. Two recent examples have brought athletic event food waste into focus.

Saturday, as I was biking to the office to finish my…book manuscript first draft (Trick or Treat!!), I came upon the finish line of a Habitat for Humanity bike race. As I was pedaling past, the keeper of the food tent beckoned with my two favorite words: “Free food.” I stopped.

With the race finished and so much food left, they were trying to get anyone and everyone to eat or take home some cookies, brownies, granola bars, yogurt, and fruit. Most of the food came as donations from Whole Foods, who, it seemed had been too generous.

I helped lighten their load a bit, but asked what would happen to the rest, especially the whole oranges and bananas. I suggested that they call the local soup kitchen/shelter, which was less than a mile away. I would have taken a load over myself, the rescued oranges, photo by Erik O.but I was on bike and had to get cracking on my book. I’d say there was about a 70 percent chance the food made it to good homes.

Then, on Monday, my wife’s colleague Erik called with news from the Raleigh marathon. They had 18 extra cases of fresh oranges they were going to throw away. Ever the vigilant one, Erik contacted me to ask what to do. I told him to call the nearby Inter-faith Food Shuttle.

From what I understand, the food recovery group snagged all 18 cases a few hours later and they went to those in need. This was an especially happy ending, because fresh produce and protein are the hardest things for food recovery groups to find.

November 4, 2009 | Posted in Events | Comments closed

Animated Food Rescue

What a pleasant surprise to stumble upon RescueFood.org, a stand-alone site created by NYC’s own food rescuers, City Harvest. The site raises the profile for food rescue/recovery through a series of whimsical animated shorts, like this:

I like “Butterfinger” the most, and it seems like the site’s designers do, too. “High Steaks Poker” seems like the most visually interesting, while “Hero on the Tracks,” is a bit…out there.

Mainly, though, I’m just excited to see so much time, effort and creativity go into publicizing food rescue.

November 2, 2009 | Posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

First BOGOFL, then lagom. Am I going insane? Possibly, but these aren’t indications of that, just ideas from the world of food waste reduction.

To follow up on the Buy One Get One Free-Later idea, a poorly-worded survey found that 58 percent believe the ability to get the free item later would reduce supermarket waste. But…the idea is aimed at reducing household waste.

Also, here’s one objection to the idea, on the grounds that the retailer will profit when shoppers lose their vouchers or don’t use them. Even though I’m sure that will happen some, I still like the scheme if you can choose whether to get the item now or later. And I haven’t been able to get an answer on that.

image courtesy of Fred Zing!— —

You cannot be serious! I know some of you think I should chill out on the food fight hating, but does anyone think a flinging aid needs to exist? (HT to the Non-Consumer Advocate, who I’m sure will not be buying one.)

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Glad to hear there has been an “overwhelmingly positive response” to trayless dining at Princeton. Here’s sophomore Erik Zyman on the change:

“It may be slightly less convenient, but I think we can all take a hit for the environment.”

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You tell ’em, Tristram!

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This “service” from a UK waste hauler is so messed up:

We are also able to offer a unique service for the secure destruction of retail packed food and drink products, with a certificate of destruction to ensure the finite destruction of products and complete peace of mind of our customers.

Because I know I won’t rest easy until my company’s food has been destroyed!

October 30, 2009 | Posted in College, Friday Buffet, International, Supermarket, Trayless, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Lagom my Eggos!

A very loyal reader, OK, my wife, sent me this fascinating piece on foreign words without English counterparts. If you scroll down, you’ll reach lagom, Swedish for “just enough.”

Unlike the idea that “just enough” means “it’ll do”–which suggests some sort of lacking– lagom expresses that there is something that is “just right.” It is the perfect amount or size, no more, no less.  

photo by xxx via creative commonsIn the realm of food, this term would really help reduce waste. What a novel idea–that we can be content without having an excess.

Also, the piece passes along this excellent Swedish saying: “Enough is as good as a feast.” Sounds like a new tagline for this blog and reminds me of the Japanese concept of Mottainai.

I wonder if there’s a way to directly insert a foreign idea into American culture…While I ponder that, I’m off to discuss lagom with my favorite Swedish foodie.

October 28, 2009 | Posted in International | Comments closed

(Food)Box It Up!

It’s not new, but I enjoyed this whimsical little video that I unearthed while doing some research. In the same vein as Replate, FoodBox was conceived by some Parsons students as a way to get our leftovers to the hungry. Empathy and idealism over health regulations. Behold:


I get a kick out of the tin foil lining (“the patented stay fresh material”) and the indicator flag. The video is obviously made with a playful tone, so there’s no need to delve into the food safety limitations.

While I’m pretty sure the original (and only?) FoodBox is still around at 14th St. and 6th Ave., I don’t think it’s in use. I’ve heard it’s now stickered over and in disrepair. If you happen to be walking through the West Village, fill us in on its status.

October 26, 2009 | Posted in Food Safety, Hunger | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In addition to being my brother’s birthday, Saturday is (the) International Climate Day of Action. 350.org, has issued this call to action to get our atmospheric CO2 below 350 parts per million. It’s imperative stuff. You can find local events on the site, and don’t forget that reducing food waste helps the environment, too.

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The Times ran a page one, zero waste article on Monday, including composting. From where I blog, the whole idea of being responsible with our waste is heating up. Now if we can only move toward reducing our amount of waste.

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Converted Organics, a Boston-based, in-vessel composting firm, just signed a deal with a leading waste hauler. The move guarantees them a nice supply of food waste to convert to an organic fertilizer.

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Just in case you weren’t feel queasy today, now you are. Looks like America isn’t the only place cursed with massive portion sizes.

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¡¡Wet blanket alert!! Now’s the time when I play the grumpy blogger who asks: Is this food waste-as-entertainment necessary?



For some reason, I don’t mind this as much as the food fight I recently wrote about. At least there’s a bit of a cultural excuse for Halloween pranks. And Rainn Wilson is a pretty funny guy (and Tweeter). That said, I could live without this piece and the Jay Leno Show from whence it came.

October 23, 2009 | Posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, History and Culture, Restaurant, Waste Stream | Comments closed