By Alexa Livingston

Food waste is becoming a serious issue for the environment. 

Nearly 40% of all food produced in the United States is wasted, equivalent to 119 billion pounds of waste, $408 billion, in a single year. (Gunders). Most of the waste ends up in municipal landfills which are the third human lead contributors to methane emissions; a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide at rendering climate change over a 100 year frame (Booker).  Food is wasted along the entire supply chain, with approximately 30% of farmed food never leaving the farm, 10% of waste being accounted for by human error at the manufacturing level, and 30% being tossed out by grocery stores failing to cycle stock, or from damage. (RTS).  It is estimated that of this total, college campuses produce 22 million pounds of food waste annually. (Gunders). 

This is more food waste than any other country in the world. 

In the US, nearly 35 million people live with food insecurity, with 10 million being children. More than 80% of Americans toss out perfectly good food simply because they misunderstand expiration labels, or don’t like the way something looks. (Hake). A study by Cambridge University estimates that successful recovery and redirection of 15% of America’s edible food waste could meet 35% of the caloric needs of Americans living with food insecurity, or in other words, could sustain 18.45 million people. (Walia). 

So what is our campus doing to combat food waste? 

UNE’s Garbage to Garden Compost Program is just one of several initiatives taken by Parkhurst kitchen to reduce the impact of our waste on the environment. The program began in 2017, and since then, has saved thousands of gallons of food waste from going into landfills. In the year 2022 alone, 40,294 gallons of food was composted, with 34,368 of it coming from the dining hall alone. Food scraps from meal prep, and all uneaten food placed on the conveyor belt during meals is separated from other trash, to be hauled to Benson Farm in Gorham where it is composted in a 5 step process, and made into a variety of soils. In the month of April 2023, a sustainability intern at Parkhurst calculated almost 120 pounds of food was thrown onto the conveyor belt in a single dinner session. Unserved food at the end of the night is donated locally to shelters and food banks. 

Another new initiative Parkhurst will soon be implementing for Earth Week is the Clean Plate Program, where students who return clean plates to the conveyor will be rewarded with tickets as an opportunity to win Flex Dollars. The goal is to incentivize students to take smaller servings to lessen waste. For the difference in weight of the food waste during the week, that poundage will be donated to local food shelters. 

Lessening food waste can help alleviate rising food prices, curb methane and CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change, and feed millions of people. Students can help by taking smaller portions at Ripich, composting their personal scraps at two of the Biddeford campus’ free compost bins, buying imperfect foods at the store (who doesn’t love a wonky carrot?), meal prepping, and eating leftovers. 

While it’s easy to be overwhelmed by climate issues, it’s important to remember that we are students of innovation, and we are the future. 

Every action matters.  

Sources Cited

Booker, Cory. “Booker, Smith, Brownley, Kuster, Pingree Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Incentivize Sustainable Practices and Reduce Food Waste | U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.” Www.booker.senate.gov, 1 Feb. 2023, www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-smith-brownley-kuster-pingree-introduce-bicameral-legislation-to-incentivize-sustainable-practices-and-reduce-food-waste. 

Gunders, Dana. “Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill.” NRDC, 28 Jan. 2019, www.nrdc.org/resources/wasted-how-america-losing-40-percent-its-food-farm-fork-landfill. 

Hake, Monika. “The Impact of Coronavirus on Food Insecurity | Feeding America.” Www.feedingamerica.org, 9 Mar. 2021, www.feedingamerica.org/research/coronavirus-hunger-research 

RTS. “Food Waste in America in 2020: Statistics & Facts.” Recycle Track Systems, 2020, www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/ .

Walia, Bhavneet, and Shane Sanders. “Curbing Food Waste: A Review of Recent Policy and Action in the USA.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, vol. 34, no. 2, 6 Sept. 2017, pp. 169–177, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1742170517000400.