As part of our April Eco-Challenge: Use Your Plate to Help the Planet by eating less beef and dairy, some of our sisters and associates are sharing their reflections about food. Today, Sister Sally Koch, communications director for the Los Angeles Province, writes about one step she has taken to reduce food waste.
Since the pandemic, I and the communities that I have shared life with have made a commitment to a food service called Imperfect Foods. This organization fights food waste by taking produce, meat and dairy (and their alternatives) and other products that the grocery store would reject due to their size, shape or the product may have a surplus. You go “shopping” online for the items you want, and they get delivered to your door.
In 2019, 35% of the U.S. food supply went unsold or uneaten. Imperfect Foods saves and redistributes these foods that are perfectly fine to their customers. They have a calculator to track your impact and so far my communities have saved 752.7 pounds of food from a lesser outcome (like the landfill); 29,309 gallons of water have been saved by me and my community; and 2,134 pounds of CO2 have been saved from the atmosphere. That is something to celebrate!
Learn more about Imperfect Foods and see if it is in your area
Learn more about food waste
We have shared a lot this month about making choices about what we eat, but what about the food we don’t consume? Read these articles to learn more.
Reflection Questions
How am I impacted by “imperfect food”?
How can I engage in practices to avoid food waste and compost what waste there is?
Share your thoughts in a comment below.