The Big Waste

It was one of those nights where I found myself at home lying on the couch flipping channels. The Food Network is usually the last channel I go to to find something to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I love their shows, but for some reason whenever I watch I end up eating when I’m not hungry.  It is The Food Network!

Well this night was different, the show that night was The Big Waste, and it made me think a bit more than usual (and not about food).

The Big Waste: First class chefs Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschelli tackle one of the most massive problems in food today – waste! Divided into two teams, with only 48 hours on the clock, they are challenged to create a multi course gourmet banquet worthy of their great reputations, but with a big twist; they can only use food that is on its way to the trash.

To an extent, we do this for Hunger Action (we accept donations and most of the shopping is done at the Capital Area Food Bank), but Bobby, Michael, Anne and Alex took things to a new level. Maybe the Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service should try some of their recipes!

Or maybe we should be all be freegans. Freeganism is the practice of reclaiming and eating food that has been discarded.  On The Big Waste, Anne spends the evening with a freegan dumpster diving and checking out garbage bags of food being tossed out by restaurants.

The group also went to local bakeries and farms and took waste from there: eggs that weren’t a uniform size, chickens with broken wings, fruits or vegetables with a few brown spots.  All perfectly good to eat but not something most would pick from a store shelf.

Do you have a contact at a restaurant, a bakery or a local farm? Do you buy the non-perfect fruits and vegetables at the grocery? If we all pitch in and collect food that might be thrown out, think of the difference we could make.  Donate it to Hunger Action, DC Central Kitchen or give it someone living on the street.

One-third of the world’s food is wasted. What are you going to do?

Free Community Service Trip to Israel

Join the Washington DCJCC’s Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service and the Washington DC post-college community (ages 22-26) trip this summer! Register now through February 29.

Experience the awesome adventure of Israel through the eyes and hearts of Israeli peers as you travel with them and with fellow Washingtonians to see the country and make a difference through community service. Travel for 10 days; see the beauty, excitement and complexities of Israel. See the land through hikes and tours, and compare the modern Israel of Tel Aviv with the diversity and spirituality of Jerusalem. You will also learn first-hand about the people of Israel as we do hands-on service learning projects throughout the trip. Each trip is a gift from Taglit-Birthright Israel and covers round-trip airfare plus 10-days of programming in Israel.
We will partner with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and trip provider Shorashim. For more information, please contact Jackie Terry at jterry@shalomdc.org.

Eligibility: Jewish, live in the greater Washington area, 22-26 years old and never been to Israel on a peer-led educational trip.