Monthly Archives: April 2007

Scrambling for Eggs

As I mentioned before, I’m a member of the NC Food Diversion Task Force. It’s a new group (we’re just working on our mission statement) with members from all walks of life. We met today for the third time at the pastoral RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International) building. What jumped out at me during today’s […]

April 30, 2007 | Posted in Food Recovery, Food Safety | Comments closed

Rockin’ Waste

Today, I learned a little more about a new area for me—avoiding food waste at concerts and sporting events. I was excited to learn more about this area from Syd Mandelbaum of Rock and Wrap It Up! (their exclamation point, not mine). The New York non-profit launched in 1991, but started operating nationally in 1993 when it got The Black […]

April 26, 2007 | Posted in Food Recovery, Food Safety | Comments closed

M.R.E(fficiency) II

We recently discussed military food waste, where I noted that more than a third of MREs are wasted. I learned this during my visit to the US Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. From what I was told, most of the waste comes not from half-eaten items so much as untouched ones. Soldiers “field strip” […]

April 25, 2007 | Posted in Food Safety, Technology | Comments closed

M.R.E(fficiency)

We recently discussed storage times for Meals Ready to Eat in the aftermath of FEMA throwing away $43 million of food improperly stored. On a related note, I just visited the Natick (Mass.) Army labs, where they develop MREs and all of the U.S. Armed Forces’ food. There, I met separately with Dr. Herbert Meiselman and Gerald Darsch, director of […]

April 23, 2007 | Posted in General, Technology | Comments closed

Disastrous Waste

In a shocking bit of front-page food waste news, Washington Post reported today that FEMA wasted $43 million of prepared food last summer because it ran out of warehouse space. Truckloads of MRE-like meals–6 million of them–spoiled as they sat outside in the Alabama heat.  This situation makes an easy meal for politicians playing the public watchdog role. […]

April 13, 2007 | Posted in Food Safety, General, Stats | Comments closed

The Produce Project: Day 2

I recently worked at a supermarket produce department for three months, an endeavor I’ve dubbed The Produce Project. On the first day of work, I got right into the action by tossing more than 50 pounds of “sell-by” date casualties and watching some computer training videos. Because the second day began in the afternoon, I missed the morning […]

April 11, 2007 | Posted in Supermarket, The Produce Project | Comments closed

Dinner Plans

My wife and I had guests over for dinner recently. For the main dish, we made a creamy mac ‘n cheese with chicken and broccoli. Because the recipe was for 8 to 10 servings, we halved it to serve four adults and a toddler. Given today’s serving sizes, that seemed pretty safe. Plus, we also were having salad […]

April 9, 2007 | Posted in Household | Comments closed

Labeling Waste

While I was visiting my family in Boston recently, we ate at a local chain called Not Your Average Joe’s. It seems like the kind of restaurant we’ll see more of in future, serving a diverse menu of “creative casual cuisine” (whatever that means). It’s like a more local, higher-end Chili’s. Our table of five adults and two […]

April 5, 2007 | Posted in Food Safety, Restaurant | Comments closed