Changing How We See Food
Amanda Brasgalla
May 27, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO -- With our summer research fully underway, the Waste Not team has jumped into the complexity of food waste as it plays out in the San Francisco Bay area, the nation’s fifth largest metropolitan region.
We started our first day of work speaking with representatives of FoodShift, an organization dedicated to the development of food recovery and waste prevention programs.
Specifically, FoodShift works with Bay Area grocery stores, service organizations and others to educate and increase awareness, facilitate food waste prevention workshops, and provide support for those engaged in food recovery.
One prospective FoodShift partner is Andronico’s Community Market, a five-store specialty grocery chain with a focus on providing customers with premium, fresh, and local food. We met with Chad Solari, director of produce and floral for Andronico’s, at the chain’s San Francisco store, located near Golden Gate Park.
Solari explained that grocery stores despite what they call “shrinkage,” or wasted food, which has a direct and negative impact on the bottom line.
“I think our customers are getting angry about food waste,” said Solari, who explained that grocery store shrinkage means the water, energy and labor associated with bringing products to market all contribute to higher prices for consumers.
Numerous factors lead to shrinkage, including misconceptions about “use by” and “sell by” dates that appear are products. Although consumers tend to follow these dates meticulously, Solari said these dates often are more flexible than labels suggests.
Consumers can reduce their food waste in simple ways, Solari said, such as “resisting the urge to throw away food a day or two after their expiration date.
“By using the sniff test and other easy tactics, people can decrease the amount of wasted food,” he said.
Solari said he hopes that working with FoodShift and other recovery programs, along with educating the public, will alter the amount of food that enters the waste stream.
“We’re not gonna change the world,” said Solari, “but we are going to change the hearts and minds of a few people.”
Changing minds seems to be at the root of the issue. Following our interview with Solari, we met up with Dana Frasz, the founder of FoodShift, which is based on the other side of San Francisco Bay in Oakland.
Frasz said one of the main goals of her organization, founded nearly three years ago, is to shift the ways in which people think about food.
We need to “reshape the paradigm around food recovery,” according to Frasz.
For instance, many people see waste as inevitable and something that can be easily fixed through food donation or composting. But in fact, Frasz said, preventing waste should be a central focus for everyone.
“We need to stop putting on Band-Aids,” Frasz said. “It’s a broad shift that needs to happen in our society.”
This notion of change is something that continues to come up in our Waste Not journey. Organizations such as FoodShift and concerned business people like those at Andronico’s Community Market are taking important steps to prevent food waste.
“It’s not about fixing the issue,” Solari reminded us. “It’s about changing how we see food.”
Amanda Brasgalla
May 27, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO -- With our summer research fully underway, the Waste Not team has jumped into the complexity of food waste as it plays out in the San Francisco Bay area, the nation’s fifth largest metropolitan region.
We started our first day of work speaking with representatives of FoodShift, an organization dedicated to the development of food recovery and waste prevention programs.
Specifically, FoodShift works with Bay Area grocery stores, service organizations and others to educate and increase awareness, facilitate food waste prevention workshops, and provide support for those engaged in food recovery.
One prospective FoodShift partner is Andronico’s Community Market, a five-store specialty grocery chain with a focus on providing customers with premium, fresh, and local food. We met with Chad Solari, director of produce and floral for Andronico’s, at the chain’s San Francisco store, located near Golden Gate Park.
Solari explained that grocery stores despite what they call “shrinkage,” or wasted food, which has a direct and negative impact on the bottom line.
“I think our customers are getting angry about food waste,” said Solari, who explained that grocery store shrinkage means the water, energy and labor associated with bringing products to market all contribute to higher prices for consumers.
Numerous factors lead to shrinkage, including misconceptions about “use by” and “sell by” dates that appear are products. Although consumers tend to follow these dates meticulously, Solari said these dates often are more flexible than labels suggests.
Consumers can reduce their food waste in simple ways, Solari said, such as “resisting the urge to throw away food a day or two after their expiration date.
“By using the sniff test and other easy tactics, people can decrease the amount of wasted food,” he said.
Solari said he hopes that working with FoodShift and other recovery programs, along with educating the public, will alter the amount of food that enters the waste stream.
“We’re not gonna change the world,” said Solari, “but we are going to change the hearts and minds of a few people.”
Changing minds seems to be at the root of the issue. Following our interview with Solari, we met up with Dana Frasz, the founder of FoodShift, which is based on the other side of San Francisco Bay in Oakland.
Frasz said one of the main goals of her organization, founded nearly three years ago, is to shift the ways in which people think about food.
We need to “reshape the paradigm around food recovery,” according to Frasz.
For instance, many people see waste as inevitable and something that can be easily fixed through food donation or composting. But in fact, Frasz said, preventing waste should be a central focus for everyone.
“We need to stop putting on Band-Aids,” Frasz said. “It’s a broad shift that needs to happen in our society.”
This notion of change is something that continues to come up in our Waste Not journey. Organizations such as FoodShift and concerned business people like those at Andronico’s Community Market are taking important steps to prevent food waste.
“It’s not about fixing the issue,” Solari reminded us. “It’s about changing how we see food.”
