Category Archives: Institutional

Providing Abundance

I recently received this comment from Brett, a student at Allegheny College, on his school’s dining practices: the reasoning I get for the overpreparation is so they don’t run out of any item. The rationale is you are supposed to be able to come at the last minute of the meal (9:59 for breakfast, 1:29 for […]

February 21, 2008 | Also posted in College, History and Culture | Comments closed

Mass. Waste

I’ve often come across waste studies that estimate how much food isn’t eaten in a city or state. Since researchers aren’t sorting and weighing food waste at every home and restaurant, I often wonder how they come up with the estimates. Now I have an answer. Page five of this 2002 Massachusetts food waste study […]

February 14, 2008 | Also posted in College, Stats | Comments closed

Hotel Food Waste

The Chicago Tribune tells us that an average-sized hotel purchases more products in a week than 100 families will in a year. That heavy purchasing, much of which is food, leads to great waste. The California Integrated Waste Management Board says that the lodging industry in California generates 112,000 tons of food waste, 2 percent of […]

December 19, 2007 | Also posted in Waste Stream | Comments closed

Congressional “Action”

The Federal government is finally dipping its sizable toe into the food waste waters. Last week, Missouri congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson introduced legislation that could become The Federal Food Donation Act of 2007 (HR 4220). If it passes, the bill would “encourage” most federal agencies to donate “excess, apparently wholesome food” to the hungry via non-profit groups. Jeffrey Connor, an […]

November 20, 2007 | Also posted in Food Recovery | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In case you haven’t read it, check out this incredibly sensible Michael Pollan op-ed on the farm bill. He argues that the long-standing federal farm policy subsidizes fats and sugars, increasing obesity rates and making processed foods cheaper. — — An employee at Panera Bread blogged about sandwich shop food waste. OK, so maybe I […]

November 9, 2007 | Also posted in College, Farm, Friday Buffet, Restaurant | Comments closed

Loyola Plate Waste

Sticking with the college theme (I guess this has become college week) students at Loyola University Chicago have launched a food waste committee to investigate the issue after a student study found 1,100 pounds of plate waste–what diners take but don’t eat–per day at the school of 15,000. According to this article, two thirds of Loyolans think campus food waste […]

October 25, 2007 | Also posted in College | Comments closed

Schools’ Waste

It’s not often that we get front page food waste news. Because wasted food is so commonplace in America, it’s not usually newsworthy.  Yet, an article generally makes the cut when the squandering costs more than a half million dollars and includes a nice helping of fraud. That’s what happened Sunday, when The Commercial Appeal broke a humdinger of an investigative story about […]

October 16, 2007 | Also posted in Food Safety, School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Just down the road from Wasted Food HQ, they’re doing some nice work recycling food waste at UNC Chapel Hill. Now if they could only waste less… Increased food recycling isn’t necessarily a good thing. Getting students to not take more food than they eat is difficult but important work. — — Hey parents, here’s a no […]

October 5, 2007 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

Buffet sans tray

In addition to aiding obesity, college cafeterias’ all-you-can-waste-eat plans cause great amounts of food waste. I’ve written on this before and even highlighted one interesting peer pressure solution. Stuart Leckie, general manager of dining at Maine’s tiny St. Joseph’s College, invented a more practical way to cut waste and waists: eliminate trays. I spoke with Leckie yesterday and he’s […]

September 26, 2007 | Also posted in School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

La Tomatina took place this week. That’s right, the big tomato fight in Buñol, Spain. In addition to being a big ol’ waste of food, it looked kind of dull. Based on this video, I’d say it would get old in, oh, about 30 seconds. — — In the Welcome to Wuh-stah (Worcester, Mass.) department, there’s some […]

August 31, 2007 | Also posted in Food Recovery, Friday Buffet | Comments closed