Last week, Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus penned this op-ed calling for more leftover sharing by restaurants, hotels and caterers. He even suggested making it mandatory for these food businesses to tell customers that they can donate the unserved food.
For the clients who choose to donate the food, the restaurant, hotel or caterer would [...]

Apologies for leaving you high and dry on Friday. On the plus side, it does prove once and for all that I’m a human, not an awesome-blog-post-producing machine.
Anyway…I got so wrapped up in finishing the final edits for my book editing and complaining about World Cup refereeing that I missed a few items. Here’s a [...]

I’m putting the finishing touches on my editing today and tonight, but felt compelled to pass along this info on Holly Elmore, founder of Atlanta’s Elemental Impact,  recently spoke at the National Restaurant Association conference about the green goings on at Atlanta eateries.
In several designated “Zero Waste Zones” (which we’ll have to discuss another day) [...]

NPR’s Morning Edition recently profiled a tiny composting company in New Hampshire. It’s always fun to see food waste receive national attention.
EcoMovement collects restaurant food waste from about 30 eateries near Portsmouth, N.H, and I’m sure that number will only grow after the company’s NPR exposure.
Founder Rian Bedard saw composting up close while living in [...]

Talk about a culture clash. A Japanese chef in Sydney is taking a firm stance on plate waste. As in: don’t clean your plate, don’t come back.
Those who leave food behind at chef Yukako Ichikawa’s restaruant, Wafu, are informally banned from returning. As she put it,
“(When they try to return), if I remember their face, I say [...]

I love this Red Robin to-go box.
Only one problem–it’s not a take-home box. Huh?!
The faux picnic basket is instead Red Robin’s centerpiece/vessel for ads. Not according to my mother-in-law (bless her heart), who decided it would make the perfect doggie bag and took some leftovers home in the paper box.
Upon further examination, it wasn’t [...]

Panera Bread has just started a very interesting experiment: a community outreach restaurant where customers pay what they can afford. The sign at the entrance says it all:  “Take what you need, leave your fair share.”
Panera, called St. Louis Bread Company in its hometown, opened St. Louis Bread Company Cares in Clayton, Missouri on Sunday. [...]

Recently, KFC announced that they’re going to donate a bunch of “unneeded” rolls and funds to food banks across the U.S. These rolls are surplus because their new sandwich, the Double Down, substitutes chicken for bread.
Now this is just silly. There’s no surplus of rolls. The company has known it would be introducing this sandwich [...]

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) thinks that reducing our food waste by 25 percent is a reasonable goal. I’d shoot a little higher, but, that’s just me.
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School lunch reform hits New Haven and food hits the bin. Of course, it’s more complex than that. An engrossing read.
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Why can’t composting and crafting go together?
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The UK government [...]

I tweeted about this tale of waste over the weekend, but it’s just too ridiculous not to cover here, too.
The Consumerist tells the story of a woman (Jennifer) and her boyfriend out to eat at the somewhat upscale McCormick and Schmick’s chain. It’s happy hour, so their beers and burgers come at a discount. He [...]