WRAPPING UP AN ACTION-PACKED WEEK ON THE ROAD
By Valery Jorgensen
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MARCH 29, 2014 – After spending the early part of the week in Portland, Ore., the Waste Not documentary team wrapped up its Spring Break 2014 research trip with a very successful couple of days in Vancouver, B.C.
On Wednesday, March 26, our last day in Portland, we visited two area food banks. We started at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, where we met with Anna Plaster, the organization’s executive director. It was exciting to see a local chapter of a large national organization doing such great work in the community.
“The food that we provide not only feeds the body,” Plaster explained. “It feeds the soul.”
We also met with three lovely ladies, including a feisty octogenarian named Dorothy (who everyone calls “The Boss” because of her long tenure), all of whom have volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul for decades. The volunteers help organize and prepare food boxes subsequently distributed to area families. The boxes, which include a variety of dry goods, canned products and fresh produce, contain enough food to last families from three to five days.
While at St. Vincent de Paul, we also stepped aboard the only mobile restaurant in America, a converted baby blue school bus equipped with a full working kitchen and a dining room that can seat 18 people at a time. Once a week, the bus travels to Northern Oregon areas in need and serves free meals. The bus is largely operated by volunteers who help prepare and serve the food to the diners. Food is donated by several partners, such as local hospitals, the Portland International Airport, and area restaurants, including Chipotle.
Of course, after learning about the good deeds Chipotle does with its left over food, we decided we should support the company ourselves, and headed to a downtown location for lunch. Chipotle is definitely a favorite among team and refueled us for the afternoon’s activities.
After we inhaled our burritos, we headed to the Oregon Food Bank, where we interviewed Dan Crunican, a devoted University of Oregon football fan and a food resource developer for the food bank.
“My job is the hunter-gatherer for the Oregon Food Bank,” said Crunican. “Anyone who’s growing food – that’s who we want to be in touch with.”
Crunican worked in the corporate world for much of his career before taking a position at the Oregon Food Bank about six years ago. Now he works to find resources for the food bank by finding ways for partner organizations to reduce food waste by donating. The Oregon Food Bank distributed more than 44 million pounds of food in 2013.
With our last interview in Portland complete, we loaded the car and headed due north, destination Vancouver, British Columbia. We paused twice along the way – once for dinner at Red Robin, (“YUM,”) – and once for a caffeine refill at Starbucks. After a long drive and some border traffic, we made our way to the Barclay Hotel on Robson Street downtown, which would be our home for the next few days.
With Wednesday having been such a full day, we welcomed the opportunity to sleep in on Thursday morning prior to our 2 p.m. interview with Andrew Pavlik, president and founder of the Food Waste Recyclers, a company that educates lower British Columbia mainland companies and individuals about how to reduce and handle food waste.
“I see it as an issue that has so much potential,” said Pavlik, who employs four other workers and anticipates further growth. “All levels of government and business are learning how to adapt to this.”
We also had a full day on Friday, meeting with Vancouver composting activist Murray Mollard, Tess White, solid waste coordinator for the Township of Langley, and Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, who also chairs Metro Vancouver, a coalition of more than 20 local municipalities that work together to better plan and manage regional public needs. All three addressed the organic waste ban that will take effect in 2015 and Vancouver’s goal to become the world’s greenest city by 2020.
Specifically, the organic waste ban is a policy set by Metro Vancouver to divert organic waste from the landfill. According to Moore, fines will be levied against those who do not comply.
Public entities are attempting to get out in front. For example, Tess White explained that the Langley Events Centre, a large public facility for sporting and community events, is working toward a goal of zero waste.
Of course, eliminating waste entirely is not possible.
But the idea is to divert as much material from landfills as possible. Receptacles made from recycled milk cartons are stationed around the arena with bins allocated for compost, recycling and waste. Behind the bins are photos of local athletes, intended to help endorse the movement and motivate participation.
Andrew Pavlik of Food Waste Recyclers said reactions to the coming ban have not been all positive. But he said while he sees both sides of the issue, the time has come.
“There’s been a lot of backlash. There’s been a lot of uproar. It seems like there’s a lot of people who aren’t receptive to it,” Pavlik said of the 2015 deadline. But while change is hard, “it just has to happen. It’s just at a critical point. If we don’t create that timeline, I don’t think it will ever happen.”
Finally, after the long week, the team will make its way back to the Lute Dome over the weekend. We are increasingly excited about the project, encouraged by the people we’ve met, and intrigued by all we have learned this past week.
Now, it’s on to more research and preparation for summer travel. Stay tuned to see where we will be off to next!
By Valery Jorgensen
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MARCH 29, 2014 – After spending the early part of the week in Portland, Ore., the Waste Not documentary team wrapped up its Spring Break 2014 research trip with a very successful couple of days in Vancouver, B.C.
On Wednesday, March 26, our last day in Portland, we visited two area food banks. We started at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, where we met with Anna Plaster, the organization’s executive director. It was exciting to see a local chapter of a large national organization doing such great work in the community.
“The food that we provide not only feeds the body,” Plaster explained. “It feeds the soul.”
We also met with three lovely ladies, including a feisty octogenarian named Dorothy (who everyone calls “The Boss” because of her long tenure), all of whom have volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul for decades. The volunteers help organize and prepare food boxes subsequently distributed to area families. The boxes, which include a variety of dry goods, canned products and fresh produce, contain enough food to last families from three to five days.
While at St. Vincent de Paul, we also stepped aboard the only mobile restaurant in America, a converted baby blue school bus equipped with a full working kitchen and a dining room that can seat 18 people at a time. Once a week, the bus travels to Northern Oregon areas in need and serves free meals. The bus is largely operated by volunteers who help prepare and serve the food to the diners. Food is donated by several partners, such as local hospitals, the Portland International Airport, and area restaurants, including Chipotle.
Of course, after learning about the good deeds Chipotle does with its left over food, we decided we should support the company ourselves, and headed to a downtown location for lunch. Chipotle is definitely a favorite among team and refueled us for the afternoon’s activities.
After we inhaled our burritos, we headed to the Oregon Food Bank, where we interviewed Dan Crunican, a devoted University of Oregon football fan and a food resource developer for the food bank.
“My job is the hunter-gatherer for the Oregon Food Bank,” said Crunican. “Anyone who’s growing food – that’s who we want to be in touch with.”
Crunican worked in the corporate world for much of his career before taking a position at the Oregon Food Bank about six years ago. Now he works to find resources for the food bank by finding ways for partner organizations to reduce food waste by donating. The Oregon Food Bank distributed more than 44 million pounds of food in 2013.
With our last interview in Portland complete, we loaded the car and headed due north, destination Vancouver, British Columbia. We paused twice along the way – once for dinner at Red Robin, (“YUM,”) – and once for a caffeine refill at Starbucks. After a long drive and some border traffic, we made our way to the Barclay Hotel on Robson Street downtown, which would be our home for the next few days.
With Wednesday having been such a full day, we welcomed the opportunity to sleep in on Thursday morning prior to our 2 p.m. interview with Andrew Pavlik, president and founder of the Food Waste Recyclers, a company that educates lower British Columbia mainland companies and individuals about how to reduce and handle food waste.
“I see it as an issue that has so much potential,” said Pavlik, who employs four other workers and anticipates further growth. “All levels of government and business are learning how to adapt to this.”
We also had a full day on Friday, meeting with Vancouver composting activist Murray Mollard, Tess White, solid waste coordinator for the Township of Langley, and Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, who also chairs Metro Vancouver, a coalition of more than 20 local municipalities that work together to better plan and manage regional public needs. All three addressed the organic waste ban that will take effect in 2015 and Vancouver’s goal to become the world’s greenest city by 2020.
Specifically, the organic waste ban is a policy set by Metro Vancouver to divert organic waste from the landfill. According to Moore, fines will be levied against those who do not comply.
Public entities are attempting to get out in front. For example, Tess White explained that the Langley Events Centre, a large public facility for sporting and community events, is working toward a goal of zero waste.
Of course, eliminating waste entirely is not possible.
But the idea is to divert as much material from landfills as possible. Receptacles made from recycled milk cartons are stationed around the arena with bins allocated for compost, recycling and waste. Behind the bins are photos of local athletes, intended to help endorse the movement and motivate participation.
Andrew Pavlik of Food Waste Recyclers said reactions to the coming ban have not been all positive. But he said while he sees both sides of the issue, the time has come.
“There’s been a lot of backlash. There’s been a lot of uproar. It seems like there’s a lot of people who aren’t receptive to it,” Pavlik said of the 2015 deadline. But while change is hard, “it just has to happen. It’s just at a critical point. If we don’t create that timeline, I don’t think it will ever happen.”
Finally, after the long week, the team will make its way back to the Lute Dome over the weekend. We are increasingly excited about the project, encouraged by the people we’ve met, and intrigued by all we have learned this past week.
Now, it’s on to more research and preparation for summer travel. Stay tuned to see where we will be off to next!
