FRN Takes On the Summer Fancy Food Show

Imagine the largest grocery store you’ve ever been in. Now multiply that by five. I feel confident saying the Summer Fancy Food Show (FFS) is bigger than whatever you’re imagining. The FFS is the “largest specialty food industry trade event in North America,” according to Specialty Food Association’s website. Thousands of vendors put their foods on display, hoping to connect with the next home for their products, while thousands of industry folk walk the aisles of the expo, sampling foods, contemplating what to bring into their kitchens or stores. I’d say it was like a kid in a candy store, but that’s pretty much where I was - except exchange lollipops for olives and chocolate bars, for, well, fancier chocolate bars.

FRN's Executive Director, Regina Northouse, left, and Program Manager, Hannah Cather, right

Thanks to our partners at the Specialty Food Foundation, Regina Northouse (FRN’s Executive Director) and I were able to experience a foodie’s dream come true. Want to sample some smoked cheddar or smooth brie? Sure, you can find it behind the giant wall of (plastic) cheese wheels. Feeling sluggish after hours of processing all the stimuli? No problem, there are at least fifteen coffee companies throughout the expo. Everywhere you looked, there was food and beverage for the tasting.

Though the expo is an international affair, Regina and I spent most of our time exploring the national brands. We met Andrew Cates, Co-founder of RayZyn, a snack company from Napa Valley. He asked if we liked wine - we do. If asked if we like raisins - we do. Then he handed us each a raisin that tasted like Cabernet. It was delicious, not alcoholic and apparently full of antioxidants, like 90 mg more than pomegranates. Who knew.

As we passed Mike’s Hot Honey stand, an enthusiastic man started raving about the honey. He asked for samples like it was all he needed in the world to be happy. Regina and I laughed, before deciding we too wanted a sample. Turns out, Enthusiastic Man was a friend of the company’s, but he wasn’t wrong about how delicious the chili pepper-infused honey was.

Those were just two of the highlights of the many, many people we got to meet together. Regina saw the FFS all the way through to the end, where she witnessed hundreds of City Harvest volunteers go through the expo and collect perishable and nonperishable food from the vendors. Because of this massive recovery, the FFS was Food Recovery Verified. “It was so inspiring to see all of these small and medium sized companies from literally all over the world who wanted to ensure their amazing products weren’t tossed out at the end of the event--but given to those in need. The recovery process was something to behold!”

We’re looking forward to the Winter Fancy Food Show, discussing food recovery with vendors and seeing the tasty things we tried in our local stores.

City of College Park, MD Declares Official Food Recovery Day

Due to all of the hard work and advocacy of our network, the city of College Park, Maryland - the location of our flagship chapter -  has officially declared June 13, 2017 Food Recovery Network Day, on behalf of College Park, MD mayor, Patrick L. Wojahn. This first-ever proclamation for FRN encourages, “... all of our residents to recognize Food Recovery Network for the significant impact they have made, and continue to make, as a critical factor in the fight against food waste and hunger.”

Our Executive Director, Regina Northouse notes, “This recognition from the City of College Park is special because it gives credit to the tireless efforts of our student-led movement across the country to prevent food waste and ensure food gets to those who need it most. Our students are amazing and it means a lot to be honored in this way.”

In addition to our network’s current summer accomplishments, we have reason to celebrate the accomplishments of last spring: FRN recovered exactly 338,111.34 pounds of food, or 280,822.70 meals. This is, by far, the most food recovered by our network in a single semester. We’re thrilled at how far we’ve come in the food waste fight, and we’re excited about the future of the organization as we continue to advocate, inform, and act on behalf of food justice.

Read the full proclamation below. We would also love to hear from you if you have questions or FRN stories to share!

Waste-Less Wednesday-- Recap of Napkins and Utensils

Week 3 and I am hitting my stride. I hope that you are considering what types of disposable items you could attempt to give up/minimize for your own challenge.  Lessons learned are:

Be prepared at all times. This became critical to my success as I added more items to the challenge.  And you know what?  It isn’t easy.  I have to say, I struggled a bit once I added the utensils. All of a sudden I felt like I was carrying a lot of stuff , that I had to remember lots of bits and pieces, and I had to attempt to plan my day to see if I needed additional items. I think this is where most of us struggle.  We use disposables because they are convenient!  I had to remind myself that small, consistent actions have transformative effects. Each time I succeeded mattered because it kept the momentum going and kept me from sending a piece trash to the landfill.

My solution was to create my own “preparedness pouch.” Using the pouch made it much easier to throw the needed items into my bag and go. I selected a plastic one because it made it easier to deal with the dirty/wet utensils. You could use a cloth one and throw it in the wash for double points. I do laundry about once a week so having a pouch I could clean quickly each day was a priority. I chose a bright color so that it would jump out at me if it was sitting on my counter.

My "preparedness pouch" makes it easy to keep all my zero-waste necessities with me at all times and helps me stay ready for any impromptu waste-generating activities. 

Finding the right napkin can be tricky. In my effort to not bulk up my already heavy bags, I didn’t want to carry around a full sized linen napkin. So I improvised and used a handkerchief that was part of the packaging for a bottle of perfume. The handkerchief was thin and I could slip it into my pocket (this is before I got the pouch) and it didn’t make the pouch bulky once I added it.  

There are lots of utensil options.  You can see in my pouch I carry a separate fork, spoon, and knife. I did find a metal spork in my silverware drawer and used it for a few days. But I found that I often needed a specific type of utensil or I needed to plan my meals accordingly.  Eating angel-hair pasta with only a spork tends to be messy. The version with the knife on one end was also tricky because I needed to cut the piece of food and hold it still. My fingers came in handy for that situation but I ended up needing to use my cloth napkin more. Try different utensils until you find the one that suits your carrying threshold and your typical food selection.

Please note: There will be a day that you forget your utensils. And so you think that you will be crafty and buy a sandwich = no utensils.  Until you realize that the sandwich was super messy and your handkerchief isn’t all that absorbent for the squishy goodness and you end up using paper napkins to make up the difference.  It happens to best food waste warrior.  

Becoming a waste warrior means spreading the good word of zero waste to others too! My office is now one step closer to being zero waste after we swapped this plastic cutlery for reusable silverware.

You can encourage others.  The first day after I began the plastic utensils challenge, I walked into work and for the first time noted the availability of plasticware. I have my own set of silverware and plates at the office, so I didn’t take much notice before. I shared with my co-workers that I was doing this challenge and I put the disposables in a cabinet instead.  Now 11 people were less likely to use a plastic fork than before. One of my co-workers replenished the office silverware drawer to help support the effort and we are back to using silverware as a team.  Think of easy ways you can help you own office or school go waste- less.

This week’s new challenge items are disposable containers.  This is a broad category so I am starting with  food containers such as take away containers, plastic food packaging, and disposable cups.

Waste-Less Wednesday

It has been one week since I started my waste-less journey and I will be adding an additional type of waste to the challenge on Wednesdays!  One week ago, I started my training to be a “zero-waste warrior” focusing on eliminating the use of plastic straws.  With my metal straw in tow, I set out to share the work of FRN and zero -waste food systems. Any time that I used a disposable straw, I had to pay $1.00 into my FRN jar.  As of yesterday, the jar has  $3.00 in it and I have some experience combatting disposable straws. Here are my lessons learned:  

On the road last week with my straw and even brought one for my friend

Courtesy of facebook memories, here I am (on the left) enjoying a wine slushie with my best friend. The picture from 2 years ago made me smile this morning. Except… now I see the glaring yellow straws! Cringe!  My goal is that two years from now, you can’t spot a disposable item in my happy moments.

1. People have not always used straws -- this I know-- but I like using a straw.  One friend asked me why I did not give up the habit all together but as I making less waste challenges that suit my lifestyle (and hope you will do the same), I am keeping the straw habit. I don’t like ice clinking onto my teeth nor do I want to risk a $8.00 organic green smoothie dumping all over me as I try to shake the slushy consistency out of the cup. I tend to use the straw with colder drinks so perhaps the winter will be a better time to re-evaluate the straw habit.  But it is hot here in DC and I want a cool drink.

2. Yes, yes---  I hear your thoughts.  But what about the disposable cup that you are using?  I am getting there but in order to make lasting change, habit gurus suggest small, consistent change. Trust me, the disposable cups/bowls/utensils are in their last days. You can donate  $15.00 to FRN now and I will add another type of waste to my challenge and you can see me address disposables faster.  

3. Like all warriors-- I must be prepared.  I think the biggest lesson learned this week is that I have to think about bringing the straw with me.  Two of the three dollars in the jar ended up there simply because I forgot to put the straws in my bag. And as you join me in your journey, a waste warrior also thinks about how to deal with the straw once it is used. Admittedly, I did not think it through and kind-hearted baristas rinsed the straw for me and lent me wax paper so I could put it in my purse as I didn’t want to put it wet in my bag. Obviously, drying the straw with a paper towel isn’t ideal.  I purchased bent metal straws but if you buy a straight one, it seems like it would fit into a travel toothbrush holder and solve this problem! I will let you know once I test it out.  

Next up:  This week I am going to say no to napkins and coasters  I noticed during the straw week that little cocktail napkins  or coaster usually accompany a drink and I started proactively saying no-thank you. I will add all other napkins to the challenge. Follow me on instagram at @zamaka7  and through the FRN facebook community.

A Not So ZERO Waste Challenge

31 days of striving for zero waste and not once did I go a day without creating a piece of trash, womp womp. In fact, in the last 10 days I lost count. And it was not for lack of trying, I kept steady track of each item of trash but I’ll let you in on a little secret: there’s actually no such thing as “zero waste”.

“The term zero waste is referring to an industrial model of design and manufacturing called a circular economy (zero waste). This is where we design products from the very beginning without waste as an end product. Currently, we live in a linear economy, where we design, manufacture and consume with waste as an end product.”

— BeZero

1. We live in a linear economy, where products are designed and consumed with waste as an end product. Unless I decided to go off the grid (which would never happen, I love pizza too much), I am participating in a world that is literally DESIGNED to create waste.

2. We generate trash without even trying. Trash hides in the weirdest of places, here are some examples of places I created garbage without even realizing it…

   • Our clothes. On average, synthetic fleece jackets release 1.7 grams of microfibers each wash but it’s not just limited to fleece, these microscopic plastic fibers can be found in most sweat wicking athletic ware and yoga pants.

   • All the disposables used to create a meal at a restaurant such as plastic gloves, plastic wrap, twist ties…even if I ordered my meal “for here” there are countless disposable products that go into the growing, transport, and production of food.

3. The recyclability and compostability (I think I just made that word up?) of products are not fixed. They are dependent on a number of conditions such as whether the waste treatment facility in your region has the mechanisms to breakdown and repurpose the products, the condition they are recycled or composted in (i.e. if your recyclable clamshell is filled with food, it’s not likely to be recycled), and it’s dependent on others properly sorting their waste (i.e. if enough of the wrong type of product ends up in a recycling or composting load, it can result in the entire load being rejected and sent to a landfill).

Then why do a zero waste challenge? Because reducing my personal garbage footprint is still going to have a significant environmental impact, and if each of us took this kind of action we could create a monumental improvement for our communities and our planet. And it’s okay if life just sometimes gets in the way. When I started this journey I wasn’t planning to have surgery and while it definitely set me back that doesn’t negate the fact that I produced very little trash the first 21 days of the challenge. We can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. And while my challenge is technically over, this is just the beginning to a lifelong journey of striving for less waste.

If you started a zero waste challenge of your own, where would you begin? Consider picking one item to start reducing today (disposable coffee cups, paper towels, straws) and see where it gets you. My fellow board member Jessica Felix-Romero has decided to do just that, she’s taking on the torch of the zero waste challenge and tackling a different disposable item each week to prevent and reduce. So stay tuned, follow along, and find inspiration to join us in the crusade against waste!