“Enjoy your meal!” the server says over their shoulder as they scurry off to care for another table. Before the plate is even fully down, my phone is a foot above the table, camera in 0.5 mode, sliding left and right and up and down to capture a picture, justifying my ridiculous habit by muttering to myself “phone eats first!” Once the shot is secured, the phone goes back in my purse and remains there for the rest of the meal until a dessert order arrives, and then the routine starts all over again.

Why I am compelled to photograph my food is a mystery. Occasionally I look back in my camera roll at the good eats I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy, but most images remain embedded in some album, never to be viewed again. And, ironically, some of the most visually appealing plates I’ve consumed were lackluster in taste, and the meals that I deemed unworthy of capturing turned out to be the most delicious. When I chose to let my phone eat first, my thoughts were on the photographic value of food, not its intrinsic value. I was ignoring the fresh water, human labor, land, energy, and sunlight that went into its creation. It is so easy to get caught up in the idea of picture-perfect food because it bombards us everywhere we turn. 

This idea plagues me in my everyday life too, especially when I go through my fridge at the end of the week. On Monday, when I swing open the door, I am pleased to see an organized array of crisp produce, perfectly stacked lunch containers, and snacks. As the week progresses, I find myself increasingly turning my nose up at softening strawberries, wilting greens, and crumbling hunks of cheese. Until my food waste internship this summer, I saw the trash as the unfortunate yet inevitable place for items like these. I had forgotten that the appearance of food does not necessarily equate to its taste and nutrition.

Fortunately, I have been able to combat this thinking, because the desire for good-looking food and the ability to make food look good are not mutually exclusive. By setting myself up for success with proper storage, keeping my fridge stocked with some good staples, and a little creativity, I found a new appreciation for even the most questionable items lurking in my fridge.

Proper Storage: Appreciating food starts with proper storage to extend its shelf-life and keep it vibrant and fresh longer. Here are a few places I keep foods so they look their best:

• Cool, dark, non-refrigerator place
  • Potatoes, hard squashes, onions, garlic, shallots
• Fridge crisper drawer
  • Leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, green beans, peppers, cucumbers, ears of corn
• In a glass of water in the fridge
  • Carrots, celery, asparagus, scallions
• On the counter
  • Tomatoes, citrus and stone fruit, apples, pears, bananas

Pantry Staples: Just as a wardrobe needs some good basics, food staples can jazz up leftover items. Some of my ride-or-die ingredients include:

• Rice wine vinegar
  • Fabulous for freshening up a sauce or making a quick pickle of veggies on their way out (I like to “quickle” cucumbers, carrots, and onions the most)!
• Mayonnaise
  • Hellman’s has a series of recipes called “Flexipes” that help use up what is left in the fridge (with a dollop of mayo, of course)!
• Sriracha
  • Sriracha is a perfect blend of acidity, sweetness, and a touch of heat that can take leftovers to the next level.
• Eggs
  • Omelets, frittatas, scrambles, oh my! Sauté wilted greens and some leftover onion, then crack in an egg or two for a nutritious kitchen-sink breakfast.
• Sourdough bread
  • There are very few things one cannot eat on top of a piece of bread. Need to finish some hummus? Pesto? Cream cheese? Jam? An avocado? You name it, you can probably smear it on a piece of bread. 

Creativity: I heard somewhere that food waste results from a lack of creativity, and I could not agree more. With these creative ideas, I now turn my fridge “uglies” into masterpieces:

• Treat my home kitchen like an episode of Chopped
  • Seriously, I pull out 4-5 things that need to be used up and then do some mental acrobatics to prepare them or try one of the many websites or apps that find recipes using a list of odds-and-ends items. With friends over, I can set a time limit and have someone shout “Chef, your time is up!” at the end.
• Find innovative ways to use scraps
  • Carrot peelings, onion tops, and dried-out celery stalks can be kept in the freezer until I’m ready to simmer them in water with herbs to make a delicious, from-scratch veggie stock.

While it’s not an overnight change, these days when I eat out or cook at home, I try to take a moment to appreciate everything that went into the dish. And I let myself – instead of my phone – eat first!

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

-Kate P., Ahold Delhaize USA Summer Intern

I am a foodie who loves hot girl walks, curating Spotify playlists, and driving with the windows down.

The post “Phone Eats First” – How a desire for picture-perfect food drives wasteful behavior appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

Bananas, am I right? Seriously, they turn from green to brown in the blink of an eye. And berries go from firm and tasty to sad and mushy even faster!  Neither can be eaten and enjoyed as I originally intended, but are they really “bad” and ready to be tossed?

Lately, my mom has been doing something odd with these wayward bananas. She’s been putting them in a ziploc bag to freeze. I thought she was being too optimistic. If we weren’t going to eat these fresh but “past their prime” bananas at room temperature, we certainly weren’t going to eat them frozen. But this was not my mom’s plan. She wanted us to pull them out and use them in smoothies.��

As for the raspberries…lately I’ve been inspired to throw the less-than-perfect ones into my smoothies as well. Since becoming a food rescue intern, I have learned two very important things: these frozen fruit smoothies are delicious, and there’s a word that describes my (and my mom’s) process – upcycling. 

I imagine we’re all familiar with recycling. How many times have we seen that triangular symbol on some product or signage? If you take your used glass bottles and metal cans to the right place, the materials can be recycled to make something new. But what about our new term – upcycling? Instead of recycling, which involves breaking things down into raw materials and rebuilding them into something new, upcycling is about repurposing items into something even better. In the context of food, upcycling is basically a new term (officially defined in 2020) for an old practice. People have upcycled for generations: using old raspberries for jam, brown bananas for banana bread, mushy avocados for guacamole, etc. When something good is no longer fit for its current use, it may be perfect for a new use. 

Here’s an official definition from the Upcycled Food Association workgroup composed of representatives from Harvard, Drexel, the World Wildlife Fund, ReFED, and the Natural Resources Defense Council: 

“Upcycled foods…use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment.”

The Upcycled Food Association broke down this definition into five requirements. Upcycled food:

1. Must be made from ingredients that otherwise would have gone to a landfill, composting, or animal feed 
2. Must turn the ingredients into an even better product 
3. Must be a new product intended for humans to eat 
4. Must have a transparent supply chain
5. Must have upcycled ingredients indicated on the label 

This definition is helpful because companies are becoming increasingly interested in upcycling. They’re doing what we do at home (but at a much larger scale). These efforts are important because edible food is often wasted when it is seen as unappealing in its current form. But upcycling is not about pinching your noise and eating food that you don’t want. It’s about turning these ingredients into something delicious. Fruits and vegetables that don’t look perfect are often rejected by retailers or left on the trees or in the field to rot. But with upcycling, that “ugly food” could be made into delicious sauces, jams, or frozen meals. For a new upcycling company here in Maine, check out Harvest Maine ().

I was excited to learn about upcycling because it means my frozen banana and raspberry smoothies are part of an important new movement. This is a term that policymakers can use to legislate better solutions to end food waste and to feed more people. Instead of composting legislation to manage food surplus that is no longer edible, upcycling legislation could allow the government to ensure that less-than-perfect food surplus goes to its highest and best use – feeding people (see fruit scraps to ). 

Upcycling is an exciting pathway to address the food we waste every day. It has already helped me reduce my food waste and eat better – keep those smoothies coming!

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

–Kathryn B., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I’m a tea-drinking knitter and reader who loves nothing more than a book and a crackling fire on a snowy winter day. In the summer, you can find me hiking or swimming.

Citations

91���� Upcycled Food. (n.d.). Upcycled Food Association. https://www.upcycledfood.org/upcycled-food

Holcomb, R., & Bellmer, D. (2021, June 22). Could “Upcycling” Turn Food Waste Into Your Next Meal? EcoWatch; EcoWatch. https://www.ecowatch.com/upcycled-food-waste-ingredients-2653490146.html

Wright, J. (2021). 5 Ways USDA Science Reduces Food Waste. Www.usda.gov. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2021/04/28/5-ways-usda-science-reduces-food-waste

The post Brown bananas and mushy raspberries – ripe for “upcycling”! appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

I admit it…I’m guilty of this. There have been times when I didn’t get a chance to finish my apple before embarking on a walk. Or, I hiked a trail and munched on that delicious fruit on the summit. The end result was always the same. After I ate the last bite of crisp sweetness, I faced the unpleasant prospect of carrying that sticky core all the way back to my house, or car, or wherever. To be honest, I just as often threw it into the woods. I figured it would biodegrade or be eaten. Either way, it would be gone. Out of sight, out of mind. At least, that was my attitude until a casual conversation forced me to reevaluate how I had been treating the natural world. 

It was late May, my senior year of high school. My classmates and I had one final project before we were free forever. One day, while we were working, I fell into a conversation with a friend (who also happened to be a Maine Guide). We were talking about the National Parks – places that attract huge numbers of nature-seekers. Our conversation centered around the question: does the number of park visitors need to be limited? On one hand, everyone deserves an equal opportunity to experience the outdoors. On the other hand, every visit erodes away at these places. My friend proposed a solution: more education about Leave No Trace Principles. At the time, I had never heard of these. But now, I can tell you that these are rules to minimize harmful human impacts on the outdoors. The rule that is relevant here is #3: Dispose of Waste Properly. Simply put, whatever you bring in, bring out. Yes, this includes food. Here’s why.

It makes a mess

We’re taught that food biodegrades. After all, composting is supposed to be great. Isn’t this the same thing? Not really. Compost is specifically designed to break down food quickly. Let me explain. Compost is not a pile of food scraps that becomes a pile of dirt. It is a recipe, a careful mixing of carbon-rich materials (“browns”), nitrogen-rich materials (“greens”), water, and air. And just like a recipe, you have to combine your ingredients in the right order, at the right time, and apply just the right amount of heat. Imagine instead of making your famous chocolate cake by mixing the flour and the eggs together, you just drop 2 eggs on the floor and a pound of flour on your counter. What is the problem there? Well, you didn’t make a cake, you made a mess. The measurements aren’t right, the ingredients aren’t in the same place, and it hasn’t been heated up to a temperature where it could actually bake. If you throw an apple core in the woods, you aren’t combining the appropriate amounts of browns, greens, air, or water. Your ingredients aren’t in the same place and the temperature isn’t hot enough for the materials to break down quickly. So– a mess. 

It’s bad for wildlife

But that apple core will break down…slowly. In the interim that hungry raccoon or deer might, in fact, get to it. Why is this a problem? A few reasons. First, some human food can make animals sick (like the M&Ms in the trail mix you dropped). Even if they won’t become sick, you’re still introducing foods that those species normally wouldn’t eat. Additionally, undigested seeds could introduce nonnative plant species to the area. Unfortunately, by dropping food you’re teaching them that your favorite walk, or hike, is a great place to get a meal. This tends to increase human-wildlife interactions and wildlife aggression. Perhaps none of this sounds like a big deal. So what if a raccoon gets an apple core? Or if my apple core is decomposing under a bush for a couple months? True– one person is unlikely to impact the entire ecosystem. And I thought this way, too. But in my conversation about Leave No Trace principles, my friend made an excellent point. I’m not the only one who takes these walks or hikes these trails. What happens if everybody does it? 4 million people visit Acadia every year . What if 4 million people chuck an apple into the bushes? I’d be dodging raccoons, squirrels, apple cores, and who knows what else. So no. We aren’t doing the environment a favor. In fact, we’re harming wildlife by throwing food just off the trail.

After that conversation, I became more aware of the need to clean up after myself. I figured the next time I hiked a trail, I could bring that apple core back down with me, all the way from the summit. I knew there was usually a trash can in the parking lot. I could put the apple core there, right? Wrong. Things that go in the trash don’t disappear. They just go somewhere else. In the case of food, they go somewhere worse. 

The secret danger of landfills

This environmental issue blindsided me when I became a Food Rescue MAINE intern. Food waste outside isn’t great. But, eventually, it will break down without too much incident (hopefully). But in a landfill? Landfills are deprived of oxygen (a key ingredient in compost!). This does not mean food won’t break down. Oh no, Nature finds a way. Food will just break down with an unfortunate byproduct – methane. In the atmosphere, methane is over 28 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Food waste is responsible for over half of landfill methane emissions and landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States . Yikes. 

The magic of compost

So now what? I can’t put that apple core in the woods because it’s bad for the animals. I can’t put it in the trash because it’s bad for the climate crisis. Is there anywhere for food scraps to go? Yes. But first a little background on soil (Sorry, I have to – I took an entire class on this…). Soil is not a homogenous, brown mixture. It is full of organisms, water, air, and nutrients. Plants uptake nutrients from the soil to grow and they take those nutrients with them when they are harvested. Soil can’t just replenish its nutrients. So there’s the answer – my apple core should go in the compost. It will help return nutrients to the soil. But it gets better. Remember when I said that a key ingredient in compost is carbon-containing materials? Well, putting carbon back into the soil keeps it out of the atmosphere. A win-win.

I’m lucky to have a compost bin at home. However, I recognize that not all of us have the time or space to compost. If you do, great! Here’s a link to the . If you don’t, no worries. That’s where a curbside composting service could come in. Instead of putting your food scraps into your trash can, you could leave them in a separate bucket on the curb. Depending on the service, you may get a bucket of fresh compost for your trouble, or peace of mind that your food scraps are being put to good use. Either way, your food scraps aren’t attracting wildlife and they’re not producing methane gas. So what should we all do with those apple cores? Take them home and compost them. 

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

–Kathryn B., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I’m a tea-drinking knitter and reader who loves nothing more than a book and a crackling fire on a snowy winter day. In the summer you can find me hiking or swimming.

Citations

The post Just pitch your apple core into the woods…or maybe not appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

My Experience with Food Waste in College Athletics

As a fourth-year Division 1 soccer player and a Mitchell Center food waste student intern, I have noticed that as athletes we learn about nutrition and food as fuel for our bodies, yet we end up wasting mounds of food.

I first noticed this waste with the catered food we ordered on away-trips. We throw away full or half-full containers of good, edible pasta,��sauce, salad, and even meat. On bus-trips, many whole pizzas were thrown away because we simply had too many for our team. This led me to question what we can do about our food waste.

Investigating the Issue

It makes sense that college athletic departments would be worried about large amounts of food waste, especially at sporting events. However, food waste on the individual team level is often overlooked. Reducing this food waste is essential because there are often large amounts at this smaller level. This is because coaches use catering-style meals on away trips, as a cheaper option than restaurant dining. Unfortunately, these catered meals create large amounts of food waste. This seemed like an issue that could be remedied, so I wanted to investigate.

I started by asking my coach why we order so much catered food, knowing that at the end of our meals we often throw away full or half-full catered food boxes. She told me that because they do not know exactly how much food the players will eat, they are unable to order the ‘perfect’ amount – and would rather have too much food than too little.

While I completely understood and appreciated their problem, I still struggled with the idea that we had to throw away all of this perfectly edible food. Reflecting on my work with the Mitchell Center as a food waste intern, I know that there are always good solutions to food waste.

Finding a Solution- The Food Recovery Hierarchy

The EPA food recovery hierarchy suggests that the first and best food waste solution is to reduce the amount of wasted food. In our case, this was not possible, so we moved on to the second solution on the hierarchy- feeding people. After further discussion, a few of my teammates and I came up with a simple solution: we would give our remaining food to the hotel staff where we were staying. We also allowed players to take home any extra pizzas from our bus-trip meals. We were able to feed lots of people and eliminate our team’s food waste.

What Can Universities Do?

For the general college athletics food waste problem, there are also good solutions. Nearly 40% of college students experience food insecurity. Rather than being thrown away, excess food from college athletic events should be donated to campus and community food pantries. There are several ways for universities to repurpose these large amounts of food instead of wasting it. Donating excess food to students or local food banks is a good option, but there is more that can be done in the preparation of this food to reduce waste before it happens. Examples of this include better ingredients that emit less greenhouse gasses, educating people about food waste, and providing more spaces for composting and recycling in athletic stadiums.

What Can YOU Do?

While these ideas work for college athletics food waste problems, they also have practical implications. Maybe you struggle with food waste when you order or even make food for a party- and always have leftovers. Since you are not feeding team athletes, you could try to reduce
the waste with this great website that helps you estimate how much food you should make or order based on the number of people that you are serving. If reduction is not an option, consider giving your guests to-go boxes of the extra food or identify soup kitchens or shelters where you can donate your leftovers.

There are solutions to food waste all around us, as long as we look for them.

And always remember- Maine food is too good to waste.

– Halle R., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I am an athlete who is passionate about contemporary art, reading the classics, and finding new music.

The post Food is Fuel – So Why is There So Much Food Waste in College Athletics? appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

U.S. Food Insecurity and Federal Efforts

Food insecurity is an issue that I’ve been passionate about long before I joined the Food Rescue MAINE intern team this past fall. In middle school, a local backpack program that provided kids with meals and snacks over the weekend opened my eyes to how widespread food instability and insecurity were in my own community. My community, like so many others, was turning to creative solutions to addressing it outside of federal aid.

I became deeply interested in exploring the ways that federal and state governments fight food insecurity. The federal and state governments can effectively combat food insecurity because of the longer reaching, national impact they have. I spent time researching programs like the expanded child tax credit. The expanded child tax credit provided monthly payments to families for support during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an unprecedented investment in American families, estimated to have reduced food insufficiency among long income families by 25%. Unfortunately, Congress refused to renew the program at the end of 2021; but many states began to adopt their own smaller-scale version of this credit, including Maine.

Feeding America reports that more than 34 million people- including 9 million children- are experiencing food insecurity in the United States either temporarily or long term. When I used to look at food insecurity, I saw it as the intimidatingly widespread issue. I thought that because of its scale, real change could only come through massive spending on the federal level.

A New Strategy to Address Food Waste and Food Insecurity

When I started my internship with Food Rescue MAINE, it was another eye opening experience. I learned that we could fight food waste and food insecurity together. Many communities across the country have been implementing to effective strategies to start real change. I inherited a Maine Hunger Dialogue grant from the previous intern to start a community fridge- and it was the first time I had ever heard of this.

What are Community Fridges?

A community fridge is a free, public location where community members can take what they need and donate what they can. They are a form of mutual aid: community members looking to support each other. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community fridges spread rapidly across urban areas as a way to supplement gaps in the food system. Community fridges provide food that would have gone to waste to members in a community who need it.�� Through these efforts, communities can promote greater access to healthier foods. Some community fridges are open 24/7, which allows both people more flexibility in accessing this resource.

While food reduction is the best way to fight food waste, food recovery and redistribution is an effective way we can cut back food waste AND fight food insecurity. Food insecurity can feel like a huge problem that only huge federal action can fight. However, we can all support members of our community through smaller actions.

If you find yourself wanting to help give back to your community, you can support your local pantries by doing the following:

1. See if your community has a community fridge that you can help by bringing smaller amounts of food
2. Shop your own community fridge
3. If your community doesn’t have a community fridge, start your own! While community fridges are popular in urban areas, they’re still spreading across the country– and need YOUR help to do it.

This is the Seacoast Community Fridge with founding member Whitney Blethen on the far right

Our Community Fridge Pilot

Moving forward in this internship, I’m working on a pilot to start a community fridge in the Orono area to provide this supplemental support. Food insecurity and insufficiency are a large-scale problem that needs large-scale solutions, but mutual aid projects like a community fridge are an incredible way that you can help to fill in the gaps in the food system and support your neighbors.

And always remember- Maine food is too good to waste.

– Kate F., Mitchell Center Student Intern

“I’m a bagel fanatic who loves reading in hammocks, plants, and nature walks”

Citations:

4. ��

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I was one of the countless Mainers facing food insecurity, feeling guilty for the hunger in my stomach because I knew my cabinets were running bare and I couldn’t afford to replenish them without asking for help.��

Food. Full bellies. Balanced, healthy meals to nourish your body and mind. Midnight snacks. Food is something many of us take for granted.

When I was growing up, I never worried that I wouldn’t have food to eat. That concern never crossed my mind until recently. When I was growing up, I understood that money was tight, but I always knew I’d have food to eat. This is not the case for everyone. Roughly in the world live in hunger, including and . This means that 1 in 10 people in Maine experience food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined by as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life.” As a student researcher at the University of Maine, I learned that have experienced food insecurity. We all know someone who is impacted by food insecurity, and we’re all likely to experience it at some point in our lives.��

Food Insecurity: A Social Issue

The public health crisis of food insecurity is more than just an issue of empty stomachs. Food insecurity disproportionately affects poor and marginalized communities. It is created and perpetuated by political, socioeconomic, and environmental factors such as insufficient wages and worker protections, flawed health systems and food systems, pollution and climate change, discrimination, inequality, and conflict. Perhaps one of the most startling things to comprehend is that while so many people are going hungry, vast amounts of perfectly good food are being dumped into landfills every single day.

According to Food Rescue MAINE, 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted each year, which amounts to 133 billion pounds of food. This is enough to fill Gillette Stadium more than 700 times. This wasted food is worth more than $160 billion and could feed a significant portion of hungry people, yet 97% of this food waste still ends up in landfills. Now imagine for a moment how it feels to be food insecure while knowing that this much food is wasted.��

My Personal Experience with Food Insecurity

During the summer of 2022, I didn’t have to imagine. I was one of the countless Mainers facing food insecurity, and I felt guilty for the hunger in my stomach because I knew my cabinets were running bare and I couldn’t afford to replenish them without help. Imagine eating popcorn for dinner several nights in a row because you can’t afford nutritious food, and it’s the only thing left in your cabinet. Imagine doing this while knowing that millions of pounds of perfectly good food, food that you would have been overjoyed to eat, was now in a landfill. Most of the food we waste in the US never even makes it to people’s plates. This food could feed people. Wasted food food while people go hungry is a social justice issue, and it needs to be addressed as such.��

Food Waste: An Environmental Issue

In addition to being a social justice issue, food waste is also an environmental issue. Those millions of pounds of food going into landfills each year don’t just sit there. They emit immense amounts of greenhouse gases and contribute to the climate crisis. lists food waste as the third most pressing issue that needs to be addressed to mitigate the climate crisis, and it is often stated that ending food waste would be more effective climate solution than ending all carbon emissions from planes. The climate crisis is leading to mass extinction, ecosystem collapse, and accentuating the food insecurity crisis by crippling agricultural industries. The climate crisis, which also disproportionately affects poor and marginalized communities, is putting all of our collective futures at risk, and food waste is contributing significantly to this risk. Wasting food is not only a food justice issue but also a climate justice issue.��

Finding Solutions

To combat these food justice and climate justice issues, we must close the gaps in the food cycle and follow the hierarchy of food waste solutions. The food recovery hierarchy ensures that as much food as possible is feeds people and animals, pr is used for energy production and composted- instead of being brought to the landfill. That’s why I decided to work with the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions as a food waste intern. In this program, we focus on the following six food waste solutions:

1. Track wasted food
2. Rescue wasted food
3. Educate people about food waste
4. Reduce food surplus
5. Encourage food donation
6. Divert food waste from landfills.

Food waste and food insecurity are daunting, extensive issues that may seem impossible to solve, but through individual, community, and large-scale efforts, a better future is possible.

��

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

– Tamra B, Mitchell Center Student Intern

I am a coffee-lover and music enthusiast who loves to be outside, especially for hiking and skiing. In my free time, you can find me reading or playing the piano.

The post Food Waste is a Social Justice Issue appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

My experience at Feeding Laramie Valley:

While serving with AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) I spent some time in Laramie, Wyoming, working with a 501c3 nonprofit organization called Feeding Laramie Valley (FLV). The aim of this organization was to address food insecurity issues and to support a sustainable and just food system in Albany County and beyond. They ran a series of different programs called SHARES, Mobile Market, Kids Out to Lunch, and a community composting effort.��

I recently moved back to New England and began school at the University of Maine in Orono. I got this internship with Food Rescue MAINE and began working on implementing solutions to fight food insecurity in Maine. In reflection, I realized that the problems which the programs in Wyoming were addressing could also be used in Maine’s food system.��

Feeding Laramie Valley & Maine’s food system:

Maine is a rural area that struggles with a shorter growing season, geographic isolation, and intense winters.

The state of Wyoming also shares these same challenges. Feeding America estimates that 1 in 8 children in Wyoming are facing hunger. Maine has a similarly dire food insecurity situation. It’s the most food insecure state in New England according to reports by the USDA.��

The Good Shepherd Food Bank found that Maine ranks number one in New England for child food insecurity. FLV held a program called Kids Out to Lunch which involved preparing free, healthy meals for children and parents. It was a great way to get more kids fed while also providing them with a time to be outside and socialize. This program could be extremely effective in Maine. With a model like this, we could help reduce the amount of hungry kids in our state.��

Maine could benefit from programs where folks get access to fresh produce for free. The SHARES program at FLV involved cultivating a variety of crops at several garden locations around Laramie. Then this food would be processed and distributed in bags given to members of the community at no cost. The SHARES program also relied on a partnership with a local food co-op to get access to more produce.��

Another project that could be incorporated in Maine from FLV’s model is the Mobil Market concept. This was a bus that was being renovated in order to supply food to multiple different geographically isolated communities neighboring Laramie. It would allow folks to get access to fresh produce in a way that is convenient and accessible to them. This practice would be especially pertinent to Maine. Geographically isolated communities are more likely to deal with hunger due to fuel costs and supply chain issues. By bringing fresh food directly to communities, we can aid in filling a void in the food system.��

Climate change and food waste:

Climate change is also a very real issue for Maine and Wyoming. Food waste decomposing in landfills is a source of methane that could easily be decreased. Composting food scraps instead of throwing them away is a great way to do this. FLV’s community compost project allowed members of the community to drop compost off in a designated area at the back of the property. This allowed folks who don’t have the capacity or use for their own compost to still divert food waste. This type of model could be very helpful in Maine because it would make composting more convenient.��

We have the ability to make changes that will feed more people in Maine. By implementing solutions that have worked in similar areas we can fight food waste in new ways. By localizing the food system we can implement community programs across the state to better fight food waste, feed more Mainers, and reduce emissions.

To learn more about the work that Feeding Laramie Valley does please visit this link:��

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

-Eddie N., Mitchell Center Student Intern

Citations:

1. Feeding Laramie Valley
3. Troutman, Caitlin. Maine Public 28 Nov. 2019
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture

The post Lessons from my Time with AmeriCorps: How Maine Can Learn From Wyoming appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

While I was very excited to work to end food waste in Maine with my internship with the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, I found the many food waste terms to be overwhelming. But with a few Google searches, I was able to put together the basics.�� If you also find food waste terminology to be confusing, I hope that you find the information below helpful.

First, here are a few key food waste terms that confused me:

1. Food waste is food that is discarded rather than being eaten. This happens in households, restaurants, and stores.

2. Food loss is food that is grown or processed but is unintentionally lost before it is eaten. This often occurs on farms, in storage, and during the transportation of food.

3. Food recycling– ReFED defines food recycling as, “capturing nutrients, energy, or other residual value by finding the highest and best use for any food or food scraps that remain.”

When you choose not to waste your food, there are three other primary waste options that you can take. You can feed people, feed animals, or recycle your food. When food is donated to feed people instead of throwing it away, we reduce hunger and food insecurity. If food is used as animal feed, we know farmers are directly using the food we cannot eat to feed their animals. When food scraps are recycled, they are often composted or processed through anaerobic digestion.

When I first heard about food recycling, I was interested to learn how it worked. Food recycling is actually an umbrella term for many different processes that repurpose the valuable nutrients in food. This can be done through composting, or through anaerobic digestion.��

Compost is a process by which food decomposes to generate a rich fertilizer for our plants. () While composting is common, prior to delving deep into the world of food recycling, I had never heard of anaerobic digestion.

What is anaerobic digestion?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “aerobic” means that something is happening in the presence of oxygen. That being said, “anaerobic” is the exact opposite of that- meaning that something is happening in an environment where there is no oxygen.

This concept confused me at first. Don’t we encourage composting because when food does not have access to oxygen while it breaks down, it produces harmful methane gas? The answer is yes! But stay with me-

When we put our food into landfills, the food waste just sits in a pile with all of our other trash. When it gets covered by this stuff, the food begins to break down, and oxygen cannot get to it(hence the anaerobic environment). This also causes leachate and other problems. The moral of the story here is- food breaking down anaerobically is bad…. right?

The answer is sometimes. When food breaks down anaerobically in a landfill, we cannot control that environment- there are too many factors. With anaerobic digestion, your food scraps get sent to a facility designed solely to break down food and other organic matter. Here they are actually able to create a stable and controlled environment to make this process safe.��

How does anaerobic digestion work?

All of the food scraps and biological waste goes into an enclosed facility, where microorganisms and bacteria break the food down. As this decomposition process happens, methane and other gasses are released. The facility then captures these gasses, and uses them as a heat or energy source. This way, the methane produced does not go into the atmosphere like it does in a landfill- but we are actually harnessing that energy.��

During this process of breaking down the organic waste, there are byproducts, known as digestate, that are created. Many anaerobic digestion facilities have come up with other uses for these byproducts- like livestock bedding and fertilizer for farming.��

Although Food Rescue MAINE focuses on food waste, anaerobic digestion facilities can process other forms of waste as well. To learn about all the other kinds of waste that anaerobic digestion facilities can process, .

Are you a visual learner? to learn more.

And always remember… Maine food is too good to waste.

Ellie H., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I am a gym-loving Harry Potter fan, who loves being outdoors and can always be found with my nose in a book.

The post Food Waste Basics…What Is Anaerobic Digestion? appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

Personally, I love to workout- but every year around this time, the local gyms become a bit crowded with New Year’s resolution newcomers. These newbies stick around for a couple of weeks, but usually stop working out by February. Don’t get me wrong- the idea behind New Year’s resolutions is great- I want to be a better me, too.�� However, these “me-centered” diets, exercise goals, and dry January pledges seem destined for early failure. So what can we do to break the cycle?

Instead of encouraging anyone to make self-focused lifestyle changes, I think that this Covid-filled January is a great time to think about the greater good.�� And what can benefit others more than saving a precious resource that everyone needs- FOOD! That being said, just last week, Food Rescue MAINE debuted our Household Food Waste Tracker on our website. This month, I want to encourage YOU to try out this brand new, FREE, food waste tracker, and discover how much food your household wastes. With the Household Food Waste Tracker,�� you can be more mindful of your food: save money, shop less, eat better, help feed your community, and protect Maine’s environment – air, water, and soil…ALL AT THE SAME TIME! The best part- all it takes is slightly tweaking the daily habits that you already have to bring more awareness to the way you handle food. Here’s how it works:

How Does it Work?

The Household Food Waste Tracker is a timely way to get our audience(YOU) to start tracking their food waste.�� Using the tracker itself�� is simple– the first week, you will go about each day as usual, but instead of throwing your food waste away, set it aside in a container. At the end of the week, you will measure your household food waste, mark down how many pounds you wasted on your Household Food Waste Tracker table, and add a note about what or why your food is getting wasted . Click here to access Food Rescue MAINE’s Free Household Food Waste Tracker. This will help you to create a baseline for how much food you waste in a typical week and some reasons why.

The next step of using the Household Food Waste Tracker is designed to show you how much a small change in your daily habits can change the amount of food that you waste. Each week, pick and implement one item from the bank of food waste reduction tips in the tracker and then measure your food waste as usual. At the end of the week, mark down how much food you wasted, and compare with your week 1 findings. Every week of the challenge, pick a new food waste reduction tip to try, and see which practices work for you! Feel free to carry over the old food waste tips from each week, or start fresh with each new standalone challenge.��

This challenge is one that you can easily customize- feel free to do it for only three weeks, or the full three months. Research says…stick it out for 4 weeks.�� Once you get started and see how easy it is to make progress and the instant benefits – you won’t want to stop!��

Amp Up Your Effort

Now that you are learning about how much food you are wasting, It can be discouraging to just dump all that food waste back in the trash can. Do you want to know what to do with the containers of food waste that you just saved from the trash? Now that you know how much food your household is wasting, the next step is to make sure that food waste stays out of landfills. There are three basic steps to preventing food from being taken to a landfill:��

1. Reduce- prevent food from going to waste before the food waste happens(i.e. Shop smarter, freeze food, meal prep, etc..)
2. Recover- if the food is still good and edible for people, share with friends/family or donate to your local pantry.
3. Recycle– If the food is no longer edible, it is still good for the earth if you compost; so make sure to do , hire a composting service that will pick-up food scraps at home, or use a community drop-off site for food recycling. Compost or recycle your food scraps instead of throwing them away.��

The Household Food Waste Tracker focuses on preventing food waste with Reduction and Recovery techniques. Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, there will always be some food scraps to throw away. Instead of tossing the food waste you measure directly in the trash, Recycle it by composting at home, using a curbside composting facility, or dropping your food off at your local transfer station. Click here to find out where you can bring food waste for recycling or donation in your area.

Share Your Journey

Now that you have taken on this fun and challenging project, help us to share your journey! to let us know what challenges reduced your food waste the most, and which challenges you would toss. Tag in a photo of your favorite challenge. In 2022, use these helpful habits to continue reducing your food waste.

And always remember- Maine food is too good to waste.

-Hannah M., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I’m a novel-reading, chocolate connoisseur who enjoys *short but sweet* hikes, and trying new plant-based recipes.

The post Save Money, Eat Better, and Protect Maine with the FRM Household Food Waste Tracker appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.

With the holiday season upon us, holiday foods are a key part of many family celebrations. After seeing how many of these holiday foods end up as leftovers at my house, I wanted to share some tips and recipes to ensure that your holiday favorites do not end up as food waste. Luckily, preventing food waste in your kitchen is as easy as planning ahead, being mindful of your leftovers, and sharing what you can’t eat yourself.��

Tip 1: Plan To Reduce Waste

The first(and easiest) step to making sure your hard work and delicious holiday cooking does not go to waste is to properly plan for how many guests you will have. If you are anything like me, portioning correctly can be a serious problem. Planning ahead and only cooking for the guests you know you will have will reduce food waste before it even happens. Regardless of how hard we try though, there will often be a little leftover food from our holiday dinners.��

Tip 2: Be Mindful of your Leftovers

The next step in the planning process is to think about what you can do with any leftover food that may occur. To help you get started, we compiled a list of common leftover holiday foods– from none other than our own followers! Our social media intern, Kalina, asked, “What foods do you most often have left over after the holidays?” Let’s see what you said and how we can help!

1. Ham

Ham is typically the protein that my family cooks for Christmas. Every year, there is so much leftover ham that we would have to eat it for days to use it all up.�� To avoid this leftover fatigue, we always . One other fan-favorite leftover ham dish is ham and cheese sliders- while this is typically done with deli ham, thinly sliced fresh ham would be a delicious substitute. These sliders are an excellent way to feed holiday house guests after your traditional ham feast.

2. Turkey

Turkey is another popular protein that our Maine audience cooks for the holiday, and it is so versatile! One of my personal favorite dishes is a chicken or a turkey pot pie. Pies and soups are excellent choices for using up your leftovers, because you can add many other leftovers – cooked veggies, onions, potatoes, salad greens – and they will still be good! Try ��

3. Mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes are terrific as part of the holiday meal, but maybe even better as leftovers.�� Repurposing mashed potatoes can be so easy! Try forming handfuls of mashed potatoes into pancake shapes and frying them up in the bacon pan for a special breakfast treat!. A simple shepherd’s pie is another great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. Shepherd’s pie is a quick, one pan recipe with a very short ingredient list, and delicious flavors. Feel free to add any leftover veggies that you have, like peas, carrots, corn – a tasty way to clean up the fridge! If you find yourself entertaining a lot of people for the holidays, you may also want to try these(they may be a great appetizer to go along with your ham and cheese sliders).��

4. Canned Pumpkin Puree

While I love pumpkin, every time I have that canned pumpkin puree leftover from my pumpkin baked goods, it molds before I get to use it. However, with pumpkin being such a popular seasonal flavor, wasting it is easily avoidable. I personally love to make pumpkin pancakes, or have a tasty treat of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. It can often be difficult to come up with recipes to use up your leftover pumpkin puree, because the amount of pumpkin you have leftover could vary from a teaspoon to three-quarters of the can. .

5. Lasagna

Lasagna is a great meal to store in the freezer. Simply slice your lasagna into personal portions and store in a plastic or tempered glass tupperware in your freezer. When you are ready, just pop it in the microwave(or in the oven for a little extra crispiness).��

If you are getting sick of eating the same lasagna, there is still no reason to throw it away. Like all good things, it may be even better as a soup! While lasagna soup is typically made with the ingredients that make up lasagna- before they are cooked and mixed together, there is no reason that you cannot slice and deconstruct an already made lasagna, and make it into this yummy soup.

6. Bread

BREAD. Everybody loves bread, and there is a reason for that- there are so many uses for it! If the bread or rolls that you got for the holidays are starting to get stale, that means it is time to get creative and turn them into something delicious. , , andare just a few of the many things that you can make with your leftover holiday bread.��

Sometimes food waste is unavoidable, and we end up with more leftovers than we can manage. When this happens, get creative and make fun new things out of your leftovers. Try some of the recipes mentioned above, and even freeze whatever you have space to store.��

Tip 3: Share With Others

If you still have food left over, remember that the holiday season is an excellent time to share with others. Check with your neighbors, friends and family, local college students, senior center, and even your local food bank or food donation site to see what types of food they accept.

And always remember- Maine food is too good to waste.

-Hannah M., Mitchell Center Student Intern

I’m a novel-reading, chocolate connoisseur who enjoys *short but sweet* hikes, and trying new plant-based recipes.

The post STOP Wasting Holiday Food: Make your Leftovers Work for You appeared first on Food Rescue MAINE.