Category Archives: School

Friday Buffet

Here’s an intriguing idea for reducing waste: make it harder to throw stuff away. Designer Nadeem Haidary has created a trash can that tilts into a less-inviting angle the more it gets full. A less cool, but cheaper solution–don’t have a trash can in every room. — —  Bread for the City’s blog has a very interesting look […]

July 3, 2009 | Also posted in Events, Farm, Friday Buffet, Waste Stream | Comments closed

A Splendid Show

I caught The Splendid Table this week, an unusual thing for me. I was glad I did, as the radio show had a few Wasted Food-related scraps. In this great feature on Tater Tots, we learn that Ore-Ida created potato puffs as a way to put spud scraps to use. Now, the potato castaways that […]

March 9, 2009 | Also posted in Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Seven-Eleven stores in Japan are not allowed to discount food near expiration dates/times–essentially mandated to waste food. — — At U.S. bases in Iraq, food waste in Iraq is tossed and burned along with everything else. We can do better, says Army infantry captain Timothy Hsia in a Times op-ed. — — In addition to […]

March 6, 2009 | Also posted in College, Events, Food Recovery, Hunger, Institutional | Comments closed

War on Waste, junior edition

I’m sure we could all use a heart-warming story these days. Right on cue, students at Otto Petersen Elementary in Scappoose, Ore., are determined to reduce food waste. More specifically, one fourth-grade class challenged the sixth-grade class to see who could waste less. They also set out to reduce paper and plastic waste, with the […]

March 5, 2009 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

The Ohio EPA is teaming up with grocers to try to get them to compost their food waste. As much as 70 percent of some stores’ trash is food waste! — — Meanwhile, students at Santa Clara found that 42 percent of their trash was food waste. And 70 percent could have been recycled in […]

February 27, 2009 | Also posted in College, Composting, Supermarket, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Santa Barbara has had a commercial composting pilot program for the last two years. Now they’ve hired a consultant to ascertain whether or not people think it’s ‘yucky.’ My guess: yes. My hope: no. — — The idea of going fridgeless is interesting. While I fear it could mean more food waste, which could undo […]

February 6, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Energy, Farm, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

R’s ‘R Us

When I wrote about the 3 R’s last week, I guess I missed the fourth one: Rot. Elementary schools in one district in Minnesota are teaching about that forgotten fourth by having students separate and compost lunch room waste. Sure, ‘Recycle,’ the third R, covers composting in some definitions. But “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot” is […]

November 18, 2008 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed

Fresh Compost

I live close to a school. This summer, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it had a garden. I came to learn that it’s one of those Edible Schoolyard type gardens, and I’ve been told that they use it to teach math and other subjects in addition to illustrating where food comes from. Apparently […]

September 24, 2008 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

If you hadn’t considered the idea of trayless college cafeterias, here’s an NPR piece on it. For the most part, it illustrates why I’m such a proponent of traylessness. — — Read this waste horror story from a mom who volunteered to supervise lunch at her daughter’s school and a spirited discussion on how parents can trim lunchbox […]

September 12, 2008 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, International, Trayless | Comments closed

Sunday Smorgasbord

I’ve always liked college, I have a soft spot for Mississippi and I love gleaning. Put that all together and you have Mississippi State gleaning watermelon. — — I’m sad to report that the California bill that would have made food donation easier at catered events is dead for the year. The office of State […]

September 7, 2008 | Also posted in College, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Legislation | Comments closed