Is there anything better than craving your favorite sushi roll or French Dip sandwich, thinking about it all day and heading over to a local restaurant to pick some up? Sinking your teeth into it, chewing slowly (or inhaling it) and savoring the flavors that dance across your palette like soft music. In the over-producing country that is the United States, how can there still be hunger issues? This is a thought that has crossed the minds of many in the last few years due to the astonishing amount of food waste each year- even each day! The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations commissioned a study that found that about “one third of the food that gets produced in the world for human consumption…is lost or wasted.” In the United States, it is estimated to be one half! This disgusting number has inspired many to change their ways and open more opportunity for donation and usage of food before it is spoiled or wasted. Chefs in particular are passionate about this issue and are finding ways to end hunger. Here are some ways they’re doing it:
- Source reduction (decrease purchasing costs)
- Feed hungry people (increase revenue from tax breaks for donating food)
- Feed animals (decrease spending on waste disposal fees)
- Create bio diesel with waste oils (decrease spending on waste disposal fees)
- Create compost to amend soils (decrease spending on waste disposal fees and increase revenue by selling compost)
- o Buy locally!
- o Contact a local homeless shelter or church soup kitchen to see how you can help.
- o Contact a local farm to schedule pickups of unused food
- o Contact: greasetofuel@gmail.com
*Original list by Chef2Chef How Chefs can end Food and Waste
As passionate foodies, chefs can contribute to not only ending hunger, but also reducing CO2 emissions and up to 10% of landfill space! As citizens it is our responsibility to promote the well-being of the planet we call our own. As put by Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”
Article By:
Katie Campo
