The Stotler family prepares dinner together. From left: Wesley, 14, Will, 8, Barbara and Michael (Photo by Jay Paul)
As a country, we waste a lot of food. According to the National Resources Defense Council, Americans discard roughly 40% of their food. Households account for the greatest percentage of food waste, followed by restaurants, farms, and grocery and distribution.
With the recent closings of restaurants, schools and businesses and a distribution system not able to easily redirect that food to retail outlets, food waste on industrial farms has skyrocketed. While illuminating the weaknesses of our large-scale food systems, the situation has also revealed the relative flexibility and adaptability of local, small-scale food suppliers and restaurants.
As some industrial farms have been forced to plow under fields of vegetables, dump millions of gallons of fresh milk, destroy eggs and euthanize animals, in Richmond, farmers, restaurants and consumers are reporting less waste.
“There is very little that we don’t use,” says Michael Stotler, a home chef and father of two. Forced to stay at home and cook, and making fewer trips to the grocery store, families like Stotler’s have become more conscientious about food waste and more inventive with what’s in their larder. Using leftovers and scraps, Stoler makes salads, tacos or soup. “With three to four dinner meals in my plan per week, it allows for leftovers and cuts down on waste,” he says.
Manakintowne Specialty Growers in Powhatan has been able to do the same, efficiently moving from supplying large orders for local restaurants to selling small quantities to individuals, without wasting produce.
“Even though our restaurant business has dropped dramatically, our retail outlets have increased just as much,” says owner Jo Pendergraph, noting that Manakintowne now sells through the online market Fall Line Farms & Local Roots.
To cater to her new clientele, Pendergraph has not only switched how she sells, but also what she grows. “The product mix is different for consumers,” she explains. “Because of the timing in the season, we have been able to adjust this year’s main crop selection towards more produce better suited to home kitchens.”
Home kitchens have also been the focus of Waynesboro pork purveyor Autumn Olive Farms. “We lost 90% of our restaurant business in 36 hours and scrambled to shift our model to online, direct to consumer,” says Autumn Olive’s Tyler Tranium. The shift not only allows them to survive but ensures they can uphold their no-waste farming standards.
Since the shift to closed dining rooms, or patios and dining rooms operating at 50% capacity, food waste from local restaurants has seen a change as well. For many restaurants that continue to operate, managing food costs is imperative, and waste has significantly decreased.
“We prep accordingly,” says Sunny Baweja, chef-owner of Lehja. At his Short Pump restaurant, they have been cooking in smaller batches and doing preorder deliveries in neighborhoods. “We have trimmed the menu to cut [down] on food waste,” he adds, “and if we run out of something, we are out.”
Beth Dixon, bar manager at Richmond's Perch, laments that while the restaurant’s food waste has gone down, packaging waste from takeout has gone up. “With margins so tight in our effort to keep the business open, costs for compostable takeout containers are too expensive,” she says. Striving to be environmentally conscious, Perch uses reusable glass for to-go cocktails, in addition to vendor-supplied plastic pouches.
The environmental impact of packaging waste has been a concern to Ellwood Thompson’s founder Rick Hood. He notes that since prepared food and salad bars at the grocery store have been suspended, and the availability of prepared foods and fresh juices reduced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Ellwood’s has seen a 50% decrease in food waste and compostable waste, dropping from 8,560 pounds in January to 4,085 pounds in April.
After temporarily pausing its glass container program with the onset of COVID-19, Ellwood’s recently revived it. “We will be selling certain waters, juices, nut butters, and some bakery and deli products this way,” Hood explains, adding that the grocer has long-term plans to increase the number of homemade products sold in glass each year.
Unlike large industrial food supply operations that are not able to adapt and are forced to dump and destroy produce and livestock, Richmond-area farms, restaurants and residents have quickly developed creative ways to operate efficiently even in reduced circumstances. Perhaps these changes in operations and attention to waste won’t simply be a solution to current issues, but instead a permanent way of life.
Reduce Food Waste at Home
Buy what you need
Before your next shopping trip, make a shopping list based on how many meals you expect to eat at home.
Prep your perishables
Take the time to wash, dry, chop, dice, slice and place your fresh food items in storage containers for snacks and easy cooking. Freeze food you know you won’t be able to eat right away.
Eat what you buy
Produce past its prime can be used in soups, casseroles or stir-fries. Designate an area in your refrigerator for leftovers and food with a short shelf life.
Benefits of Reducing Food Waste
- Reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint
- Conserves energy and resources, preventing pollution involved in the growing, manufacturing, transporting and selling of food (not to mention hauling the food waste and then landfilling it)
- Supports your community by providing donated untouched food that would have otherwise gone to waste to those who might not have a steady food supply
Source: EPA, “Reducing Wasted Food at Home”
