Borderlands Bienvenue

I’m in Arizona now, for a class visit and book reading at the University of Arizona, where I learned about this neat community food recovery venture. But, excitingly, this trip is also an opportunity to do some research.

Thanks to the assistance of the inimitable Gary Nabhan, I will finally get to the Mexican border at Nogales. I’ve wanted to visit there for years, after hearing about the myriad ways the border crossing causes waste.

In addition, to understanding why there’s so much food wasted at the border, I will get to see a dynamic non-profit doing their best to reduce that waste. Borderlands Food Bank rescues 30 to 40 million pounds of produce per year and redistributes that healthy food to food banks many states away, as supply and perishability allow.

I’ll hope to learn more in the next few days, on both sides of the border, and will be writing up what I find. Stay tuned…