Bring the Possible out of Impossible

A common phrase in Elemental Impact founder Holly Elmore's speaking engagements summarizes the overall driving force in Ei initiatives:

Ei determines what could be done that is not being done and gets it done. Ei brings the possible out of impossible.

While nurturing the Zero Waste Zones from their 2009 launch until the September, 2012 National Restaurant Association purchase, the Ei Team worked closely with industry pioneers to create zero practices grounded in sound business principles and easy to implement.  Quotes, like the below from Dave Rossman, then general manager at the Doubletree Atlanta-Buckhead, were common by late 2009:

"By joining the Zero Waste Zones we were given an easy and cost-saving solution for food waste composting.  We have fewer and lighter compactor pulls since there is no smell from decomposing food in the compactor.  The process was easy and our employees feel good about helping the environment."

With the ZWZ success, the possible was brought out of what seemed impossible in 2008. It was not easy getting to consistent ZWZ Participant quotes on how easy it was to implement food waste collection practices in commercial kitchens. Ei specializes in creating pathways within frontiers by working closely with pioneers willing to make the effort so others may easily follow.

As documented in the ZWA Blog post, Ei: An Established Program Creator, the NRA ZWZ acquisition moved the Sustainable Food Court Initiative center stage for Ei's zero waste focus. True to the Ei tagline: Sustainability in ACTION, the SFCI is in full action mode. In early March, the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot - Concord Mills in Charlotte, NC - hosted the third Ei Partner Tours. For an overview of the tours, see The IMPACT Blog post, Charlotte Ei Partner Tours.and the Ei FB album, 03-04-13 Ei Ptr Tours - Day 1, for a pictorial recap.

Concord Mills - a Simon Property Group mall with the food court operated by HMSHost - was a natural pilot choice. With Ei Partner HMSHost at the backbone of the Atlanta Airport SFCI Airport Pilot, the foodservice tenant buy-in challenge was not applicable. The ZWA Blog post, ACTION: Theme for the SFCI Shopping Mall Pilot, is an overview of how the Concord Mills Team embarked upon food waste collection for composting, wasted food donation and plastic film recycling pilots.

The Ei Partner Tours were an excellent opportunity to showcase how the WE Conciousness results in programs where all benefit. The ZWA Blog post, Zero Waste is a Team Sport, introduces the WE Consciousness as integral to zero waste success.

The Charlotte "Can Do" Team
Ray, Brian & Larry Jenkins

For an overview of Ray Soporowski's - CM SPG general manager- and Brian Shetron's - CM HMSHost food & beverage director, "can do" attitude that results in action, see the ZWA Blog post, Concord Mills: The Power of "WE" in Action.

Working with the Concord Mills team. Susan Stanton with Tomra | Orwak was instrumental in launching the plastic film recycling pilot. Beyond providing the baling equipment, Susan's industry expertise was invaluable, especially during the chaotic energy present in the creation process.To make it easy for tenants, Ray implemented a porter service for weekly plastic film collection. Tenants are enthusiastic to participate and doing their best to shift internal practices so a clean stream is generated. From the August program launch through the end of February, 18,000 pounds of clean, clear plastic film was baled and sold for recycling at Concord Mills

Jim, Brian & Ray by the new
food waste container

For food waste collection, Jim Lanier of Earth Farms worked closely with Ray and Brian to develop a system that worked well for all. With Earth Farms located 45 minutes from Concord Mills, Jim developed a weekly collection system that kept odors under control. When the original 95 gallon totes proved less than ideal, Jim replaced totes with a 2.3 yard container. Working as a team, Ray's staff moves the container from the interior hallway site to the loading area for Earth Farm's collection. Note: a layer of spent coffee grinds on top of the food waste is an excellent odor control option.

Concord Mills is an exception to most mall designs with their "race track" internal hall system. The halls are wide (equipment placement is relatively easy without infringing on fire codes) and built for vehicle traffic. The mall has forklifts making it practical to move the food waste container to the loading area.  

Brian explains BOH practices to
Laurette & Susan during tours

On the DAY 2 of the Charlotte Ei Partner Tours the entourage traveled to Stanley, NC for an excellent tour of Earth Farms' composting facility.The Ei FB album, 03-05-13 Charlotte Ei Ptr Tours - Day 2, includes a pictorial recap of the Earth Farms tour.

HMSHost works closely with The Food Donation Connection on wasted food donation programs at their airport, turnpike service center and mall operations. At airports the grab 'n go items were the first step to creating a national donation template.The ZWA Blog post, Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third, gives an overview of the Tampa Airport donation program.

Brian took the next big step in wasted food donation: prepared, unserved food from Quick Service Restaurants. In accordance with Popeye's quality control chicken must be sold within 20 minutes of frying. Standards like Popeye's generate a significant amount of wasted food that is perfect for donation.

Rev White & Brian

Working with the Food Donation Connection, Brian identified the wasted food generated in the food court operations that meets the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. Next  the local Second Harvest office identified a shelter set-up for food requiring further processing before serving. Reverend White of Urban Street Ministries was a perfect match and collects 300 - 400 pounds of food weekly to feed those living in the streets. 

It is an honor to witness the team work and heartfelt caring required to create and launch the Concord Mills wasted food donation program. Future blog posts will dive deeper into the program along with advice on how to create similar programs where donatable, wasted food goes to composting or the landfill.

As of the tours, 38 tons of food waste was diverted from landfills to composting and 6800 pounds of consumable food was distributed to hungry folks at Concord Mills. By working with Simon & HMSHost, the impact of templates developed at Concord Mills has potential to impact nearly 400 Simon malls and around 80 plus North American airports with HMSHost foodservice operations.

Concord Mills is the perfect pilot: 1> mall & food court managers who operate within the WE Consciousness 2> food court is operated by one tenant, Ei Partner HMSHost 3> mall back-of-the-house design accommodates equipment placement and material transport. With plastic film recycling, food waste collection for composting and wasted food donation programs in-place, it is time to explore zero waste practices in malls with more typical scenarios.

Clean plastic film ready for baling
@ Concord Mills

On DAY 2 the partners started the busy day with a tour of SouthPark Mall, a high-end Simon mall in Charlotte. Plastic film recycling is underway at SouthPark with their baler arriving days earlier. Ray, Brian and Jim joined the Ei Partners to educate Randy Thomas - Southpark general manager- and operations manager Ron Rentschler on the support the Ei Team provides while implementing new practices. First action steps are for SouthPark to explore back-of-the-house food waste collection with staged-in implementation. 

SouthPark has three strong national restaurant tenants - The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's Little Italy and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood & Steaks  - who contract for their own waste & recycling services. Ei plans to work on a talking points template for SouthPark to educate the restaurant management that food waste collection for composting makes good business sense. Besides the zero waste impact, the food waste volume from these restaurants creates route density to keep Earth Farm's costs in-line.

Bruce & Ray with
SCFI FOH recycling center

For Concord Mills, the next frontier is front-of-the-house food waste collection in the food court. Challenges abound, making the scenario perfect for the SFCI Team to lend valuable industry expertise. CleanRiver Recycling Solutions Tom Lembo chairs the FOH Recycling Center SFCI committee and is excited to move into action mode. Bruce Buchan - CleanRiver founder & CEO - attended the tours as a featured partner and gave an excellent presentation on DAY 1. The first rendition of the SFCI recycling center is in-place and ready for its next evolution - thank you CleanRiver for your generosity with both expertise and equipment.

Transport and consumer-facing packaging is foundational  to moving the zero waste needle closer to no waste. In the ZWA Blog post, Supply Chain Critical to Zero Waste Success, transport packaging is addressed along with approaching suppliers as partners.  Examples are given where suppliers shifted from "landfill packaging" to reuseable | recyclable options where all win, including the supplier's bottom line.

Jim showing Lynn the final
product @ composting site

Representing single-use consumer foodservice packaging, Ei Advisory Council member Lynn Dyer - Foodservice Packaging Institute president, joined the Ei Partner Tours. FPI is active in industry sustainable options with their Paper Recovery Alliance and Plastics Recovery Group. On her quest to learn industry best practices and potentials, the Earth Farms' tour was a top priority in Lynn's busy schedule. It was Lynn's first visit to a food waste composting site, the final destination for many single-use compostable consumer foodservice packaging. The entire tour group learned from Lynn's inquisitive conversation and questions. 

With impeccable timing, Ei founder Holly Elmore served on a SWANA Road to Zero Waste conference panel with Laurette Hall - Mecklenburg County director of sustainability - the week prior to the Charlotte Ei Partner Tours. For an overview of the conference session, see the ZWA Blog post, Zero Waste, Southern Style. Laurette accepted Holly's invitation and joined the Ei Partners for the DAY 1 tours & presentations at Concord Mills.

Laurette Hall with Linda Dunn
of HMSHost

Jake Wilson - Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful executive director & works with Laurette - is instrumental to Ei's Charlotte presence. Holly connected with Jake long before the first Charlotte adventure and relies on Jake as a local anchor. For the tours, Jake made the majority a priority in his hectic schedule. Local government support is critical to success and Ei is most appreciative of the strong Mecklenburg County bond.

The SFCI Team is staged for action bringing the possible out of what is perceived as impossible.  Exciting times!!!

Food Waste, the business perspective

Food waste, the stupendous quantity and its landfill destination, is a hot media topic. In 2010 Jonathan Bloom hit a trigger point with his groundbreaking book, American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and what we can do about it), and opened the gateways to exposing the tremendous waste inherent in the nation's food production and consumption.

Months later Dana Gunders with the National Resource Defense Council issued a concise, well-written two-page document,Your scraps add up, reducing food waste can save money and resources, that details facts in easy to understand graphs, lists simple behavioral changes, and includes ample live links to resources for those who choose to dig deeper. The document inspired the ZWA Blog's most popular post, Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third.

In August, 2012 the NRDC released an Issue Paper, Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill, researched and written by Dana. The paper serves as a well-organized, easy to access and quotable document for the plethora of recent wasted food stories in national media outlets.

food waste image from the
SmartPlanet article post

A common theme emerges: the food waste scenario is more than an environmental concern; it  threatens our nation's economic security.  On January 15 CBS SmartPlanet published For business, food waste a ripe opportunity for savings by Kevin Gray that approaches food waste from the business perspective.


Using the NRDC issue paper along with examples from Dana and other sources, Kevin grounds the article with facts of the current situation.  According to the Dutch journal Food Policy, an estimated $47 billion annually year is lost at the retail and consumer levels each each year.  Many corporate and personal consumers do not hear the environmental call to action.  Yet when rephrased into the dollar impact on the pocketbook or bottom line, a voice comes forth that evokes action.

GA World Congress Center

In his article, Kevin uses Atlanta food waste heroes the Georgia World Congress Center and Affairs to Remember as pioneers whose top and bottom lines benefit from their food waste reduction practices. Consumer demand for zero waste initiatives results in increased revenue and waste reduction equates to cost-savings.

In February, 2009 the GWCC hosted the Zero Waste Zones launch at a prominent press conference led by the acting regional director of the U.S. EPA, Region IV.  The ZWZ launch put Atlanta in the national sustainability spotlight with tremendous media response, including the CNN ZWZ Story featured on CNN.com's home page during Earth Week 2009. As a founding ZWZ Participant, the GWCC was one of the first, if not THE first, Atlanta foodservice operator to source-separate food waste for compost collection.

GWCC food waste awaiting
collection for composting

Tim Trefzer, GWCC director of sustainability, joined the team in late 2010 and took the campus sustainability practices to new dimensions.  For examples of creative reuse and recycling in action at several major conventions, visit the ZWA Blog post, GWCC Hits Recycling Stride.

In 2012 the Georgia Dome, one of three venues on the GWCC campus, accepted the Sustainable Food Court Initiative invitation to serve as the Event Venue Pilot.  The ZWA Blog post, Georgia Dome - SFCI Event Venue Pilot!, announces the pilot and the GA Dome SFCI Team Tour post is an overview of the Dome's established zero waste practices - impressive!

In the SmartPlant article, Tim validates the economics supporting the GWCC's sustainability commitment, “It’s a competitive advantage and it sets us apart because we’ve made it a priority,”

Affairs to Remember general manager Patrick Cuccaro attributes $250,000 in revenues directly to the prestigious off-premises catering company's zero waste practices. The astute consumer includes zero waste practices in their decision making criteria.  Result: increased revenue!

Food waste reduction is in direct proportion to cost-savings and bottom line improvement. Beyond Executive Chef Ahmad Nourzad's eagle watch in the kitchen, Patrick reduced food waste by evolving menu selections in the proposal process. With more consumers requesting local, seasonal cuisine, ATR found it was an easy sell to include "chef's choice" for produce items. Thus, menu synergy is created and Chef Ahmad may maximize produce use, minimizing waste.

Chef Ahmad in action
Photo courtesy of ATR

Early zero waste adopters like ATR and the GWCC received excellent media accolades over the years for their pioneering spirit.  With food waste prominent in mainstream media, the accolade doorway is closing and soon the critical doorway will open for those who choose to retain the landfill habit.  Kevin closes his important article with Patrick's quote:

“If you are not in this conversation in the next two or three years, you are going to be increasingly less relevant to the buying public. Because it’s a mega-movement, not a trend, that is moving up the food chain and the age chain. The younger you are and the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to understand it. All types of corporations are going to figure it out or be left in the dust.”

Atlanta's food waste heroes keep the City in the national sustainability spotlight. While the SmartPlanet article focuses on the business perspective, the story has many flavors. In November Martha Stewart's Whole Living  published Spoil Alert, a feature article by Elizabeth Royt that emphasized the vast range of food waste reduction programs in place throughout Atlanta's corporate and private communities.  The ZWA Blog post, Atlanta Wasted Food Heroes in National Spotlight, is a Spoil Alert overview with anecdotes not included in print. 

Whole Living issue
with Spoil Alert article

A common ground between the Whole Living and SmartPlanet articles is the connecting role Elemental Impact founder Holly Elmore plays among the heroes. Elizabeth and Kevin each portray Holly as a character:  Elizabeth refers to Holly as the "Kevin Bacon of wasted food" while Kevin compares her to Erin Brockovich.

Food waste is prevalent throughout the entire food system: from the farms, the food processors, the distribution centers, the retail operators - grocery stores, markets and foodservice outlets, and to the consumer. Ei is in the initial stages of developing a template to close waste leakages in the foodservice produce distribution systems. The ZWA Blog post, Food Waste Reduction in Foodservice Distribution Channels, gives a program overview detailing the challenges and industry collaboration necessary for success.

As important as the food waste scenario is to the environment, action will germinate from the business perspective, bottom line improvement and customer demands. Thank you Kevin Gray for taking the time to pen an excellent, well-researched food waste article written in a voice corporate America hears.  

Atlanta Wasted Food Heroes in National Spotlight

Elizabeth smelling ripe
fruit ready for harvest

Atlanta's wasted food crusaders receive a national spotlight in a November Whole Living feature article, Spoil Alert, by renowned nature | science writer Elizabeth Royte.  In addition to one of four feature articles, editor-in-chief Alanna Stang dedicates an entire paragraph to Spoil Alert in her Editor's Letter.

In June Elizabeth traveled to Atlanta for a whirlwind two-day interview marathon hosted by Elemental Impact founder Holly Elmore. The ZWA Blog post, Atlanta's Focus on Food Waste Reduction, is an overview of the visit along with interesting anecdotes from the local wasted food warriors.  For a pictorial recount, visit the Ei FB album, 06-12 Elizabeth Royte ATL Visit.

A talented journalist, Elizabeth crafts an excellent highlight of the local heroes who put Atlanta on the map as a national leader in food waste reduction.  Intertwined within the hero mini-profiles is an abundance of the staggering facts at the foundation of our nation throwing out 40% of our food, most of it perfectly edible. Creative solutions are also included such as "In Australia, Hong Kong and Saudia Arabia, there are reports of eating establishments that actually levy modest fines on diners who leave food on their plates."

Humor is interjected within the copy via her descriptions of Holly's attire - "with her flouncy skirts and jaunty hats in matching sorbet colors", driving style - "careening across town", industry connections - "the Kevin Bacon of wasted food," professional operating mode - "I create things. It never occurs to me to do any research. I'm a Scorpio" and energy level - "and her energy level slightly exhausting."

Spoil Alert magnifies the diversity of effort necessary to create an efficient effective food system, where wasted food is eliminated and food waste is the inedible by-product of food processing and cooking.  Integral to system development is the equitable distribution of food to the entire population spectrum.

Robby among his beloved
urban fruit bearing trees

First on the interview circuit, Robby Astrove, a volunteer with Concrete Jungle - a grass roots urban foraging organization, understands the abundance of food growing in our urban environment. Known for its in-town "greenscape" Atlanta is plentiful with fruit bearing trees whose bounty is now harvested  by Concrete Jungle.  Once cleaned the fruit is delivered to local shelters. Since 2009, more than 5 tons of fruit has been harvested and delivered to those who rarely enjoy fresh, seasonal fruit.

A volunteer with Second Helpings, Myron Smith used his business acumen to create a donation program for delicious, nutritious food from farmers markets, grocery stores, festivals and foodservice operators previously landfill bound. In team spirit, Myron works in collaboration with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to ensure their complementary services maximize community benefit.

Foodservice is the second largest industry in the nation and a tremendous generator of wasted food. Charter Zero Waste Zones Participants, Affairs to Remember and Fifth Group Restaurants shared their experiences as pioneers in food waste collection for composting. With zero waste practices firmly in place, Patrick Cuccaro, ATR general manager, and Steve Simon, FGR partner, focus on taking their sustainability focus to new dimensions. 

Steve Simon on Ecco's rooftop
garden

ATR Executive Chef Ahmad Nourzad uses his eagle eye to minimize waste in the production process while Patrick educates the sales team on how to sell menus that minimize waste.  When opening their latest restaurant Lure, Steve installed an innovative rainwater system that also collects air conditioning condensate water for use in the restaurant's toilets.

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority is honored in the article as the Zero Waste Zones 2009 launch pad. 

Ei pals Johnathan Bloom,  American Wasteland author, and Dana Gunders of the National Resource Defense Council received strong mention in the article.  Note Dana is the author of the NRDC Issue Paper, Wasted: How America is losing up to 40% of its food from farm to fork to landfill, released in August this year. Dana's concise two-page December, 2011 Food Fact Sheet, Your Scraps Add Up: Reducing food waste can save money and resources, was the catalyst for the ZWA Blog post, Reduce First, Donate Second, Compost Third, the second all-time most popular post on the blog.

Elizabeth interviewing Paula of
Heirloom Gardens

A common theme throughout the article is ALL effort is important where wasted food is concerned, no matter the size.  Myron puts it succinctly "For someone who is hungry, nothing is too small."  Paula Guilbeau of Heirloom Gardens, one of the farmers who works closely with Myron, visited a shelter where her unsold produce is delivered.  It was a powerful experience for Paula, who summarizes her role as "I know I'm just one person helping, but I do believe in the power of one."

This blog post is a mere snippet of Elizabeth's powerful article. Use your voice to support action on our nation's wasted food addiction by purchasing the magazine.  Whole Living is widely distributed wherever magazines are sold and will be on the racks until early November.

Consider writing Elizabeth on her blog and submitting editorial comments to Whole Living in support of the article.  Editors and publishers will print more articles on wasted food when they understand it sells magazines and promotes reader dialogue.

Thank you Elizabeth for taking the time to meet Atlanta's heroes and shining a bright light on their superlative work. It seems you survived the two-days in Holly's 18 year old red convertible careening around Atlanta without too many scars.  Know many will be surprised to learn Holly owns a car!

Atlanta's Focus on Food Waste Reduction

With the 2009 Zero Waste Zones launch, Atlanta stepped to the helm as a national leader in food waste reduction initiatives.  The early emphasis was diversion of food residuals from the landfill to composting operations.  

Elizabeth Royte

As they focused on the volume of food diverted from the landfill, the ZWZ Participants found unique ways to REDUCE food waste, thus reducing food costs. With a strong focus on the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, Participants discovered additional food generated in their operations for donation to local organizations feeding the hungry population.


Renowned nature | science writer Elizabeth Royte is passionate about respectful treatment of food including waste reduction, delivering unsalable yet delicious food to the hungry population, and composting of the no longer edible residuals.  As part of her research on food waste reduction, Elizabeth visited Atlanta to learn about the diverse and innovative systems in place.


Home of the ZWZ, Elemental Impact hosted Elizabeth's Atlanta visit and orchestrated a series of interviews with a wide range of individuals who spearhead the City's leadership role.  It was thrilling to hear tales of how these individuals | organizations commit themselves to a cause that benefits ALL concerned, including the corporate bottom line.


Patrick Cuccaro, Affairs to Remember general manager and ZWZ champion, articulated the underlying commitment with perfection:  Food waste reduction and donation programs are a unique opportunity where one's spiritual convictions align with corporate responsibility.  Note the preceding is a paraphrase of Patrick's comment.

Robby Astrove

Beginning with grass roots impact, Elizabeth met with local maverick Robby Astrove of Concrete Jungle, one his many important endeavors.  Under Concrete Jungle's direction volunteers harvest fruit from previously untended trees around the Atlanta metro area.    


Once cleaned and inspected, the fruit is donated to local shelters as a treat to those who usually only eat second-hand food.  Besides the nutritional value, the fruit hand-picked for these individuals is a step towards restoring dignity, the basis for rebuilding stolen lives.  The ZWA Blog post, The Many Faces of Zero Waste, gives an overview of Concrete Jungle's impressive urban foraging mission.

Ecco Chefs Craig Richards &
Casey Wise, Ecco's garden stewards

Fifth Group partner Steve Simon was next on the interview itinerary.  Ecco's rooftop garden was the perfect spot to learn the details of how Steve's actions are shifting the nation's second-largest private sector industry's standard practices. In recent restaurant lease negotiations, Steve insisted food waste collection for composting was included in the flagship office building lease provisions.

Farmer D & Elizabeth in
garden area behind his store

The following day the interview marathon continued with Farmer D (aka Daron Joffe). Using his extensive composting expertise, Farmer D partners with Whole Foods on a composting program that closes the loop for food waste generated at metro Atlanta stores.  In addition to his Farmer D Organic Compost brand, Farmer D owns a cool organic gardening center, a haven for the home gardener.


As a volunteer, Myron Smith coordinates Second Helping's food donation and collection program.  A quiet, astute business man, Myron determined where quality food was slipping through current systems and ending up in landfills or compost windrows, rather than hungry bellies. Local farmers markets were a ripe venue.  At market close, farmers generally have a portion of their bounty unsold that they are happy to donate to Second Helpings.

Myron & Elizabeth by Second
Helpings Truck 

Myron developed a system where a Second Helpings volunteer arrives at market close to collect the produce in plastic bins and delivers the fresh, seasonal food to a nearby shelter, usually no more than 20 minutes from the market location. Many farmers now bring produce not meeting their specifications, yet delicious, to markets for donation.  In the past this food stayed on the farm for hog feed or the compost pile.


It takes ingenuity and tenacity to find the hidden food within current programs and determine how to collect and deliver the food in an effective, safe manner.  By finding shelters located close to markets, Myron's system mirrors a trip to the grocery store where the store is the market and the home is a shelter.  Food quality and safety is maintained without coolers or refrigeration.

Chef Ahmad, Patrick, Elizabeth &
Ei founder Holly Elmore
photo courtesy of ATR

Next in the interview series was an amazing lunch at Affairs to Remember locally sourced and prepared by Executive Chef Ahmad Nourzad. Beyond composting their food waste, ATR made impressive strides in reducing food waste.  Under Patrick's direction, the sales department shifted contract provisions to include chef's selection of fresh, seasonal items.  The chef's selection provision gives the flexibility to serve produce at its peak and reduces waste by purchasing for combined events.


Chef Ahmad keeps an eagle eye on hidden waste in the ATR kitchen.  A prime example is the discovery that a pint of cream remains in a case of poured, cold quart containers.  If the poured case sets out for a few minutes, the remaining cream loosens from the container side and easily pours.  Over the past year, the equivalent cream savings is approximately five gallons. It is amazing to realize the waste reduction possible by simple, acute observation.  

GWCC food residuals
awaiting transport for composting

The final interview was with the Georgia World Congress Center Team including facility foodservice operator Levy Restaurants.  As the host to the 2009 ZWZ Launch Press Conference, the GWCC is a veteran zero waste advocate committed to continual refinement in their recycling and food waste practices.  The ZWA Blog post, GWWC Hits Recycling Stride, gives an overview of impressive stats from several large conventions.


Completely polystyrene-free, the GWCC first replaced  polystyrene foodservice ware in the employee cafeteria with compostable products.  Next the GWCC upgraded the cafeteria to reusable plates and flatware eliminating a significant amount of product leaving the campus for composting.  To understand the integrity of a facility's sustainability commitment, learn their practices at behind-the-scene operations such as the employee cafeteria.  Kudos to GWCC | Levy Restaurants for your sustainability integrity!


Elizabeth's whirlwind two-day Atlanta visit was an excellent opportunity to highlight the many dimensions of the City's food waste reduction efforts.  For pictorial details on the interview marathon, see the Ei FB album, 06-12 Elizabeth Royte ATL Visit.

Remember there is not a food shortage dilemma; the reason so many go hungry is due to waste and distribution | infrastructure challenges. Atlanta's pioneers are making tremendous strides to creating a reality where abundant, healthy food is available to the population spectrum.

Reduce First, Donate Second and Compost Third

image from
madebymrswoo.blogspot.com   

The Zero Waste Zones promote the big three "R's": Reduce, ReUse | RePurpose and Recycle. As a general rule, ZWZ Participants shift purchasing practices once a focus develops on wasted items sent to the landfill or recycling and REDUCE their consumption, including waste.

With kitchen food waste, the reduction catalyst is often an observant chef who retrains staff to more effectively prep food items. A simple yet common example is cutting the lettuce closer to the core to utilize the entire head, leaving only bitter or inedible parts for compost collection.

When he reviewed their food waste stats provided by Greenco Environmental, the permitted composting facility serving the Atlanta market, Steve Simon - Fifth Group Restaurants partner & ZWZ Participant- found  his lowest grossing restaurant had the  highest food waste volume.  With superior food quality at the restaurant, Steve realized portions were larger than their customers' appetite.  By focusing on what and how much is going to recycling or landfill, foodservice operators modify practices to improve their bottom line.

In his ground-breaking book, American Wasteland - How America Throws Away Nearly Half of It's Food (and what we can do about it), Jonathan Bloom opened our nation's eyes to the staggering amount of food going to landfills, while millions go to bed hungry.  With open eyes it is time to take action to stop the waste at every level of production and consumption from the farm, to distribution, retail - restaurants | foodservice, grocery stores and markets, and in our homes.

The ZWZ Criteria sets the use hierarchy of excess commercial food generated: 1> donate unsalable food that meets the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and 2> separate remaining food waste for composting collection.  

Perry Kranias of HMSHost - Tampa
with food ready for donation

Last week the Tampa Bay Times article, Leftovers from Tampa International Airport serve new purposes, honors HMSHost - the Tampa International Airport concessionaire & ZWZ Participant - for creating a program that donates delicious food no longer meeting their high standards to a local children's program during the week.  On the weekend the food is donated to area homeless folks.  For many of the children the HMSHost late afternoon meals serve as a dinner they were destined to miss.


Since September, 2010  HMSHost - Tampa Airport recovered the equivalent of 167,000 meals and spurred similar programs in 13 other airports.  HMSHost vendors typically produce 10 to 15 percent more foods than they expect to sell. Travelers appreciate fresh prepackaged foods, which is why HMSHost "grab and go meals" are never older than 24 hours. Thanks to the Tampa HMSHost folks, the overage produced via a quality and abundant selection commitment serve as delicious, nutritious meals for those less fortunate at an increasing number of airports.

At the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport - a ZWZ Participant and Sustainable Food Court Initiative Pilot, HMSHost delivers it's excess donatable food to the airport's USO operations for soldiers to enjoy. A donation program to local programs for children and those less fortunate is in the exploratory phase.  At the busiest airport in the world for 14 consecutive years, there are additional challenges at play to ensure secure travel.

Dana Gunders

In her recent blog post, A Look at the $175 in your compost,  Dana Gunders with the National Resources Defense Council gives an excellent recap of the astounding truth inherent within the wasted food in our nation.  With a predominant consumer focus, the blog post is a must read for those committed to walking the talk in their personal lives.  

In December, 2011 the NRDC issued a concise, well-written two-page document, Your scraps add up, reducing food waste can save money and resources. that details the facts in easy to understand graphs, lists simple behavioral changes that make a big difference, and includes ample live links to resources for those who choose to dig deeper.   

uneaten, served food going to compost
from  http://blog.bigpicture.tv

When they address world hunger, our global leaders must address the food waste inherent within the current system before an effective solution is created.  Eliminating the waste is the first priority and diverting edible, wasted food to hungry bellies is foundational to system development.  An entirely revamped agricultural system, urban & rural, will produce food where the animals, plants and soil are treated with immense integrity and the nutritious food produced is equally available to all population sectors.  Such a system seems utopian in current energy yet is our future reality.

ZWZ plays a vital role in the food system evolution.  The participant base consists of the pioneers ready, willing and enthusiastic to create industry practices seeped with integrity and respect for our natural resources, including plants, animals, soil and humanity.