(Less) Evil Empire

I guess the Yankees aren’t all bad.

There’s a neat article in today’s Times tracing the path of donated concession food from Yankee Stadium to those in need in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Rock and Wrap it Up facilitates this donation of unsold event food and many others. I spent a pleasant summer evening talking with founder Syd Mandelbaum and recovering food with the group from the buffet backstage at a Bob Dylan show at Jones Beach. Lots of Rice Krispie treats remained, but I’m not sure if that means Dylan does or doesn’t like them.

 

August 15, 2009 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Less waste through technology: When farmer’s market orders are made in advance online, growers only pick what they know will go to use. 

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The EPA food waste calculator–out sometime in September, I think–will let businesses calculate how diverting food from their waste stream will save them dough. (Hat tip to Lean Path.)

image courtesy of Recycle for London— —

Even celebrity chefs are getting into the act in the UK, pitching in with recipes to help Britons avoid waste. Cool graphic, too.

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The good news: Many prisons in Tennessee are composting their food scraps, and often using the finished product to help grow their veggies.

The bad news: the state Solid Waste Disposal Control Board shot down oroposed landfill bans on yard waste by 2017 (which has been on the books for a decade here in ole North Carolina) and food waste by 2020. Hey, at least the topic is being discussed, thanks mostly to Bring Urban Recycling to Nashville Today (BURNT).

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Finally, here are some dumpster diving scare tactics, courtesy of Florida grocers. Publix spokeswoman Kim Jaeger on her store’s efficiency:

“In other words, you won’t find much in our Dumpsters.”

That’s a good one.

August 13, 2009 | Posted in Composting, Farm, Farmers' Market, Friday Buffet, Waste Stream | Comments closed

BOGOF to Bug Off?

Bye bye, ‘buy-one-get-one-free?’ This beloved sales scheme is under threat in the UK, where it’s called BOGOF.

The British government is working on its first food policy since WWII rationing ended and released a preliminary assessment on Monday. In the food policy, the government will call on retailers to abolish the tempting retail policy blamed for luring shoppers into buying more than they can photo by chez pim via creative commonseat.

I’m not completely sold on this move–it won’t help the poor who make full use of these sales. But I don’t think it will apply to frozen food and non-perishables, based on page 39 of the full preliminary report. Also, I love these accompanying ideas:

Supermarket chiefs will be told instead to offer half-price deals and package food in a greater range of sizes to suit the single person’s fridge as well as the family’s. 

Oh, and Britain’s Environment Secretary Hilary Benn also advised Britons to ignore “best before” dates. Sensible chap. Benn is fast becoming my hero. 

Do you think the British government is on the right track? Banning BOGOF certainly won’t be popular. Whatever your opinion, you can’t accuse them of indifference. Now U.S. lawmakers, on the other hand…

August 12, 2009 | Posted in International, Supermarket | Comments closed

Radio Daze

This morning, I was on WNPR’s Where We Live. As always, I had a good time talking waste (even though I’m not a morning person, which showed a few times).

The hour really flew by and there were a few things I was hoping to get in but didn’t. For example, a caller mentioned how much free fruit was available for foraging, but going to waste because nobody was collecting it. Sounds to me like somebody in Connecticut needs to start a tree gleaning group.

As for the extra bakery items and lack of reliable pickup, that speaks to the abundance of available bread. It was telling when host John Dankosky asked why they don’t bake less, the caller said that nobody wanted to see empty displays. Anyway, I’ll sleep better after Dankosky volunteered, with a smidge of self-interest, to collect all excess bakery items.

Also, in response to my comment on how we needed more involvement from the Federal government, one caller mentioned the national organization Feeding America. That group does great work, but what I had in mind was a return to when the USDA had a national gleaning coordinator and prompted farmers to donate more of their unharvested crop. Simplifying the tax code to allow all farms, including unincorporated ones, to receive deductions for donating wouldn’t hurt, either.

There were multiple mentions of Food Not Bombs, and this group apparently is still having problems with the state Board of Health. I wrote about this controversy in May.

August 11, 2009 | Posted in Food Recovery, Tree Gleaning | Comments closed

Tomato Sale

Every time I hit the store, I venture over to the discount produce rack to see what they have. It’s mostly curiosity, but I do buy things from time to time.

It’s essentially the one area where I do make impulse purchases—I know, tsk, tsk–but I only do it when I know I’ll use the item. Plus, it doesn’t happen often because the sale produce isn’t exactly enticing. While you never now what to expect, you can usually find old bananas (good for baking), very ripe cantaloupes (for eating…when you get home from the store) and wrinkly potatoes (just fine for mashing).

The other day, though, I was excited to see cherry tomatoes, which, in my estimation, brighten up just about anything. Two pints came shrink wrapped together for $1 (not bad, as these containers usually go for $3 each).

photo by jonathan bloom

Since they looked perfectly fine through through the multiple layers of cellophane, I was really curious to see if that was the case. Upon closer examination, I found only four cherry toms that that were off (as seen below). One had burst and leaked, which explained why it was on the sale rack. As for the other container, I’m really not quite sure.

photo by jonathan bloom

Discount produce buying is a way to benefit from produce departments’ increasingly superficial standards. That is, if supermarkets still have sale produce racks. Does your regular store have one? And if so, is there anything you wouldn’t buy from it?

August 10, 2009 | Posted in Personal, Supermarket | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Do missed shots with this popcorn flinging bucket mean food waste? Not if you believe in the five-second rule! Wild Fling, you do not make my heart sing. 

popcorn by ayelie via creative commons— —

Purdue University has plans to send its food waste to an existing anaerobic digester at a nearby waste water treatment plant.  
And San Jose is looking at A.D. as a major catalyst toward its goal of energy independence.  

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Just read this nice piece from the Kansas City Star on food waste collection and composting. The paper also had a standout photo spread and an editorial on the topic. Newspapers! Yes, they’re still out there producing interesting content (sometimes).

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The Brits are the best. Not only are they making labels to remember when they opened their food, they’re studying “depackaging” equipment that would remove food waste from it’s plastic containers for composting or anaerobic digestion.

August 7, 2009 | Posted in Composting, Energy, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Count me…In? Out?

We all have those fridge mysteries. Count On It labels are intended to solve those by reminding you when you opened a jar or bottle. The labels let you scratch off the day and month (what–no time of day?!) to eliminate the guesswork and possibly reduce the waste from unknown food safety.

Lyndsey Young, a.k.a. the Mummypreneur, is a mother of two in Bottesford, England. As we see in this video with Ms. Young’s son, a good sport and a good reader for a 6-year-old, the product is aimed at parents:

I can’t decide about Count On It labels. On the one hand, it’s one more thing to use and throw away. How about just using a Sharpie? But what if the labels save you from tossing out food??

I do think many people use the ‘when in doubt, throw it out’ ideology in their house. My guess is that many of these folks would be the ones who’d appreciate this product. I don’t think I’d ever buy these, as I’m a sniffer/taster, but I can see how they’d work for some. Plus, they come from a good place–trying to avoid waste.

Let me know what you think about the labels and/or if you’re able to get a box.

P.S. Young got the seed money for her company by winning £15,500 on Deal or No Deal.

August 5, 2009 | Posted in Food Safety, Household, International | Comments closed

Forget Tomorrow, what about Today?

I’m not a huge fan of Maggiano’s.* I don’t see eye-to-eye with restaurants that serve gigantic portions that leave diners with an awkward choice: overeat, waste food or take it home (especially since some folks don’t like leftovers or aren’t going straight home, etc.).

Now comes news of a new Maggiano’s promotion: Today and Tomorrow. You order from a list of $12.95 entrees and they send you home with another entree, gratis, packed and ready to go when you are.

photo by ivanlanin via creative commonsNow this deal could be a real boon in these tight times. I would guess that some of us could get at least four meals out of those two entrees. And I get that people are looking for value. But the tone on Maggiano’s site is all wrong and reinforces the whole gluttony thing:

“Trust me, in Little Italy, less definitely isn’t more.”

Ugh. And do they reserve prime parking spaces for Hummers, too? I’d rather see more restaurants go in the direction of smaller portions for less money.

Flipping the curmudeon switch into overdrive, my main beef with the promotion is the use of the word ‘leftover’ in the press release.

Some say the recession is causing a new generation of Americans to eat a dish they’ve never eaten before: the leftover. ‘Today & Tomorrow’ re-invents the leftover, with a free meal that is world-class quality and made fresh daily to take home,” said Steve Provost, senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy for Maggiano’s.

The thing is, they’re not re-inventing leftovers, but superseding them with an entirely new dish. And I’m guessing that will make more diners decline to take home the sure-to-exist remains of their first entree. And what about those weirdos (kidding!) who dislike leftovers–what will they do with this second meal?

What do you think: Will Today and Tomorrow make diners snobbier about what foods are worth taking home? Or will it train those not already in the habit of taking home restaurant food to do so?

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* See comments below for an update–I dislike Maggiano’s less knowing that they offer half portions.

August 3, 2009 | Posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

For those wondering what life is like at Food Banks these days, watch this engrossing video from the NY Times. “The food bank opens at 4 p.m. every Thursday, but the line outside begins to form as early as noon.”

Increased demand has made it challenging for food banks to feed all of those in need. One bit of good news, though–more money from Washington.  

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If you only have a few items on hand and need a (British) recipe, head to the handy Supercook site (hat tip to My Zero Waste).

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Its’ not just Seattle that’s composting food in Washington. Makes sense, with Cedar Grove Composting in the area. In this article, we learn that restaurants and businesses in Snohomish County are really starting to divert food from the landfill.

Good to hear that my snohomies in Snohomish County have raised tipping fees (for regular trash) at its transfer station to make composting more attractive. That means: 

“On average, it’s about 20 percent cheaper than hauling away garbage,” Fisher said of composting. “The goal here is maybe to look and see what you can take out of (your garbage), and what you’re left with is the least amount you’re sending to the garbage. There’s where you’re going to be saving money.”

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Take a trip down ‘Home Ec’ memory lane with this 1950s video teaching practical grocery buying. Beware impulse buying! It contains what’s surely the first impulse purchase of rutabagas. And stick around for the cake waste footage at the 3:10 mark.

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Nice to hear that Hidden Harvest, one of my favorite food recovery groups, is recovering lots of food. They pay those that are unemployed and underemployed to pick for the hungry. Plus, the wage is per hour, not based on how productive the pickers are.

July 30, 2009 | Posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, History and Culture | Comments closed

Some Summer Inspiration

For those of you wondering how else you can reduce the amount of food waste we create outside the home, here’s an idea (and a nice read): start an end-of-the-day farmers’ market produce collection. Margaret Gifford of Chapel Hill, N.C., has done that to great effect, with her Carrboro Farmers’ Market Farmer Foodshare.

Many farmers’ markets have such services and for good reason. Some of the healthy, local goods on offer usually goes unsold at markets. Everyone can’t sell out of everything! That’s why collecting and ferrying these items to those in need is such a valuable service.

Jackson, MS farmer's market by NatalieMaynor via creative commonsYes, as the article mentions, most farmers’ compost their unsold produce. That’s great, but not as beneficial as feeding hungry people.

If you live near a farmers’ market–and you probably do–try to find out if a similar recovery program exists there. If not, starting something like the Carrboro Farmers’ Market Farmer Foodshare wouldn’t take too much time. Obviously it’s hard work, but it would bear fruit almost immediately.

Does your market already have such a service? Let me know…

 

July 29, 2009 | Posted in Farmers' Market, Food Recovery | Comments closed