Category Archives: Events

Oh, geez…

Controversy abounds in Fargo, N.D. Not only was there an objection to food waste at last year’s Kiwanis Pancake Karnival, there’s an anti-dirty dancing rule that has Jennifer Grey dusting off her cutoffs and Keds in protest. Given the name of this blog, I’ll focus on the former. In the leadup to the February Fargodome […]

January 22, 2009 | Posted in Events | Comments closed

Running On Empty

“If you’re in the back of the line, chances are, there will not be enough food for you.” That was the announcement made over the loudspeaker at the Sustainable Solutions Expo today. Huh?? Now, conferences are often culprits when it comes to food waste. Organizers seem to provide an abundance, and because meals are usually […]

November 11, 2008 | Posted in Events | Comments closed

Recovering Food Slowly

Sunday, I attended the final Slow Food Nation session at the taste pavilions. I tried pluot gelato and Hell or Highwatermelon wheat beer. I enjoyed a beer with honey flavor and honey infused with coffee. And I sampled coffee I was told had cannabis ‘notes’ and cannabis with–kidding!! I chuckled a bit when I saw […]

September 2, 2008 | Also posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Democratic National Convention organizers aimed to divert 85 percent of its waste from the landfill, including composting food. Based on this Rocky Mountain News article, it seems like they’ll have to settle for 70 percent. In my book, that’s still quite an accomplishment, as described here. So why bar volunteers from talking to the press, […]

August 29, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Trayless | Comments closed

California Bill

If you happen to be in Los Angeles today around lunchtime, there’s a press conference at a Venice soup kitchen to promote a pending California bill that would enable increased food donation. Senate Bill 1443 would allow catering customers to decide what to do with their leftovers–donate it to those in need or take it […]

August 8, 2008 | Also posted in Legislation, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Conference Waste

Many of you have concluded a conference and thought, ‘What a waste.’ But you probably weren’t referring to the food. Last week I was walking through a hotel conference center after lunch and was amazed by what I saw: About 50 excess boxed lunches. It was nearly 2 p.m. and a hotel staffer had started […]

July 29, 2008 | Posted in Events | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

This Marketplace (radio) piece introduces Billy Vasquez, a.k.a. the “99 cent Chef,” a food blogger who makes meals from ingredients sourced at 99-cent stores. I enjoyed this exchange on buying spinach there (no idea if it’s canned, frozen or fresh): Newnam: Do you have to worry about the dates? Vasquez: Hey, it’s still green. That’s […]

June 13, 2008 | Also posted in Food Safety, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

While the prices of many foods are rising, you can’t say that about some edibles. This graphic shows some traditional barbecue items have decreased in the last ten years (after adjusting for inflation). — — Here’s a neat web segment (and accompanying blog post) in which a restaurant owner explains why she composts. Oh Portland, […]

May 30, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Energy, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

April 22 means…

It’s Earth Day–stop reading this and go outside! — Welcome back. Or perhaps you never left…Anyway, for your persistence, here are some tips to help you help our planet by cutting food waste: You can ‘green your refrigerator,’ making it more energy efficient and reducing food waste. You can feed your family for less. You […]

April 22, 2008 | Also posted in Composting, Household | Comments closed

Jack Groh Q & A

In February, I gushed about food recovery during Super Bowl week. The NFL Environmental Program teamed with the Arizona non-profit Waste Not to collect more than 93,000 pounds of sanitary, delicious leftovers. After overseeing Pro Bowl activities in Honolulu (poor guy!) and getting started on next year’s Super Bowl, Jack Groh, director of the NFL […]

April 15, 2008 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Q & A | Comments closed