Food Forward: reducing food waste!

d'arrière-courdiscovered this great organization through my good friend Stephanie. During our volunteering, we picked up Navel Orange Harvest at the Heritage Square Museum.

Rick Nahmias started Food Forward back in January 2019 after noticing that many fruits were wasted in his neighborhood and could be a sustainable source for people in need.

It started with only two volunteers. They were able to harvest over 800 pounds of fruits in a single backyard! Years went by, and many volunteers joined the team. In the last 11 years, Food Forward has rescued over 100 million pounds (400 million servings) of fresh produce.

Food Forward donates to non-profit 501(c)(3) charities that serve a diversity of people in need: the homeless, families, children, veterans, elderly, people living with HIV, and many others.

Any fresh surplus produce gets collected from different places: backyard fruit trees, extra vegetables from farms or farmer's markets, and even loaves of bread and nuts. Everything gets donated, 100% free of charge to hunger relief agencies across eight Southern California counties.

We believe that access to wholesome food and fresh, nutritious produce is not a privilege but a right. We work hard to end food inequality and reduce food insecurity. - Food Forward

If you would like to learn more about this Food Forward, would like to know about their volunteering openings, or have a tree filled with fruits that can be donated, check out their website for more information:

www.foodforward.org

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J'ai découvert cette merveilleuse organisation grâce à ma bonne amie Stéphanie. Durant notre journée bénévolat, nous avons ramassé des Oranges de type Navel au Musée du Heritage Square. Rick Nahmias a fondé Food Forward en janvier 2019 après avoir remarqué que de nombreux fruits étaient gaspillés dans son quartier et pourraient être une source durable pour les personnes dans le besoin. Tout a commencé avec deux volontaires. Ils ont pu récolter plus de 800 livres de fruits dans une seule arrière-cour! Les années ont passé et de nombreux bénévoles ont rejoint l'équipe. Au cours des 11 dernières années, Food Forward a sauvé plus de 100 millions de livres (400 millions de portions) de produits frais.

Food Forward fait des dons aux organismes de bienfaisance à but non lucratif 501 (c) (3) qui servent une diversité de personnes dans le besoin: les sans-abri, les familles, les enfants, les anciens combattants, les personnes âgées, les personnes vivant avec le VIH et bien d'autres. Tous les surplus de produits frais sont collectés à différents endroits: arbres fruitiers d'arrière-cour, légumes supplémentaires provenant de fermes ou de marchés fermiers, et même miches de pain et des noix. Tout est donné gratuitement à 100% aux agences de lutte contre la faim dans huit comtés du sud de la Californie.

"Nous pensons que l'accès à une alimentation saine et à des produits frais et nutritifs n'est pas un privilège mais un droit. Nous travaillons dur pour mettre fin aux inégalités alimentaires et réduire l'insécurité alimentaire."

Si vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur Food Forward, souhaitez en savoir plus sur leurs ouvertures de volontariat, ou si vous aviez un arbre rempli de fruits pouvant être récoltés, consultez leur site Web pour plus d'informations: www.foodforward.org

EAT YOUR VEGGIES by Sophia Roe x Josiah Citrin

I had the golden opportunity to have brunch curated by Sophia Roe and Michelin Star Chef Josiah Citrin. The event was held at the Line Hotel and was a collaboration with Imperfect Produce.

The purpose of this brunch: demonstrate that good food doesn't have to be good-looking. We tend to stay away from odd-shaped, flawed, or uncommon shape veggies or fruit when doing our groceries - but that doesn't make them less nutritious and tasty!

Josiah greeted us and explained how important it is to reduce food waste and how it can have a great impact on the environment.

According to Imperfect food: "

Each year, an estimated 40% of the food supply goes to waste in the US; that's over 136 billion pounds, worth approximately $218 billion. That works out at 417.8lb of wasted food, worth $666, for every American each year. The average household (2.63 people) produces food waste to the value of $1,752."

Did you know that Intermarché, France's largest grocery chain, launched the idea of selling unconventional fruits and vegetables for much less in 2014? I think the idea is brilliant and should be adopted everywhere in the US and Canada! For now, you can order a basket from Imperfect Foods.

The entire menu that the chef created that day was top-notch and entirely made with excess or ugly produce:

LEFT: Chilled Prawns, Mango, Ginger, Chili RIGHT: Snap Peas, Grilled Asparagus, Cucumber Salad, Nasturtium Vinaigrette.

Fried Wild Rice Slow-Roasted Vegetables, Sesame

Black Cod, Spring Garden Vegetables, Koji

LEFT: Yukon Gold Potato Salad RIGHT: Sliced Beefsteak Tomatoes, Sherry Vinegar, Herbs

Coconut Panna Cotta, Blood Orange

At the end of the event, Imperfect Foods gave us a basket filled with vegetables and fruits to experiment and cook at home. The event inspired me to cook more with what is in season and become more creative with what I have left in my fridge.

The best part of all this: I made two good friends who also have a love for food!

Thank you to the whole team and especially Sophia Roe for hosting this eye-opener brunch.