A new venture in Corvallis hopes to keep leftovers from landfills. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, the “Food Too Good To Waste” campaign just scored a $45,000 dollar grant from the state Department of Environmental Quality to that effect.
The campaign is modeled after one the EPA has used, in an attempt to keep household food from being wasted in the first place.
Jeanette Hardison is program manager for the project. She’s with the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. She says they hope to launch by March, and the philosophy is pretty direct.
“It fosters the mindset that food is valuable, and how and why to use it wisely," she tells KLCC. "And given the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from the 40 percent of grown food that’s never eaten, we just wanted to help reverse that trend by raising awareness in our own community.”
Hardison says besides outreach, they’ll have up to 50 households participate in what’s called the “wasted food challenge.” She says planning meals, and practicing preservation methods like canning can reduce food waste.
Oregon State University also received a grant from the DEQ. The $27,000 will support OSU’s efforts to cut food waste on campus by 10 percent.
Copyright 2017, KLCC.
