PBS News Hour Video: Start-ups, organizations take on America's food waste challenge
According to the USDA, 30 to 40 percent of the food produced in America goes uneaten. Mona Iskander reports from West Virginia on how new businesses have emerged to help kitchens reduce food waste while turning a profit. This piece highlights the food waste crisis and how companies are working to reduce food waste generated at all levels. LeanPath was among those featured, with an interview with Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Shakman as well as a profile of the work we’ve done with Martinsburg Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center.
Barbara Hartman, Chief of Nutrition and Food Service at the VA Medical Center, is the focus of the story, and she describes how the medical center went from sending all of its food waste to landfills to preventing much of that waste in the first place through tracking and composting programs. This combination of reducing food waste at the source by using tracking systems and composting the leftovers has had a very noticeable impact on the organization. Speaking to how LeanPath has helped reduce food costs at the VA Medical Center, Barbara explained, “I conservatively estimate that we save $40,000 to $50,000 a year in food waste.”
Local Partners
- Beyond Green Partners - Greg Christian
beyondgreenpartners.com - Bright Beat
brightbeat.com - Collective Resource
collectiveresource.us - Next Bites
nextbites.org - SCARCE
www.scarce.org - Seven Generations Ahead
sevengenerationsahead.org - Illinois Sustainable Technology Center
istc.illinois.edu
Other Resources
- Training video - shows training process in three languages
youtube.com/watch?v=fEee4RDOjUM - Green Restaurant Association
https://www.dinegreen.com/ - Stop Waste Business Partnership
stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=9 - San Francisco Environmental
sfenvironment.org/article/business-recycling-and-composting/technical-assistance-for-sf-businesses-restaurants-office - Biocycle Magazine
biocycle.net - NRDC Food Waste Report
http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf
http://www.nrdc.org/living/eatingwell/files/foodwaste_2pgr.pdf - How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America
blogs.law.harvard.edu/foodpolicyinitiative/files/2013/09/dating-game-report.pdf - LeanPath
http://www.leanpath.com/ - National Restaurant Association
restaurant.org - A to Z Solutions Food Waste Infographic
sustainableindustries.com/articles/2013/11/21-shocking-us-food-waste-facts - The Food Project
thefoodproject.org/bountybucks - CropMobster - Crowdsourcing Surplus Food Supply
cropmobster.com - Federal Trade Comission's Revised Green Guides
ftc.gov/os/2012/10/greenguides.pdf - We Hate to Waste
wehatetowaste.com - WRAP (UK)
wrap.org/uk/content/collection-and-recycling-food-waste-0
Food Waste Collections to SMEs: Developing the Business Case
wrap.org.uk - The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness
hsfu.ca/cmns/courses/2012/801/1-Readings/Schlegelmilch_greenpurchasingenvironmental.pdf - International Institute for Sustainable Development - Who are the green consumers?
iisd.org/business/markets/green_who.aspx - Feeding America - Food Assistance Programs
feedingamerica.org/how-we-fight-hunger/programs-and-services/network-programs.aspx - Environmental Law and Policy Center
With its Green Restaurants Program, the Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest is working to help restaurants "green" their practices to create a healthier environment for staff and patrons.
greenrestaurants.org"
greenrestaurants.org/documents/GoingGreenerGuide.pdf - Coalition for Resource Recovery - Commercial Food Waste Recovery Program
The Commercial Food Waste Recovery Program aims to accelerate development of reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sound commercial food waste recovery infrastructure.
thecorr.org
biocycle.net/2012/12/18/commercial-food-waste-recovery-in-new-york-city/ - Economics of New York City Commercial MSW Collection and Disoposal and Source-Separated Food Waste Collection and Composting
thecorr.org/EconomicsofCompostingandMSW.pdf