Hi All, Climate Master John Fischer here with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably.
I have been bugging you about reducing food waste long enough that you know well the difference between best if used by, and sell by dates. And hardly a bread crumb goes into the garbage at your house anymore. But if you go to a big event - a wedding, endurance race, or work party that provides food, there will be leftovers - sometimes a lot of leftovers. A simple solution is to take them home, but that can mean a lot for the last person out the door, or off the course. You might have friends or neighbors who would appreciate eating and not wasting leftovers.
But for big loads, my go-to spot for a half a gallon of sour cream, two bags of oranges, a gallon of spaghetti sauce, and four boxes of cookies is the Eugene Mission. They will happily accept your leftovers from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Of course the hot food needs to have been kept hot before refrigeration, cold foods must have stayed cold. But large packages of produce or dry goods are easy to pass on.
I have been bringing event leftovers to the mission for years, but the Burrito Brigade maintains free pantries and even refrigerators in about 50 locations in our area. Food For Lane County is a great organization too, but does generally not work with leftovers. Social media can also lead you to folks who want safe food leftovers.
There will be things that have gone "too far" and are no longer safe to eat. My chickens get leftover half-eaten sandwiches and partial bags of chips. Other food scraps go into my composter - with the soldier fly larvae. So after the wedding, save a piece of cake and then remember the vows I imagine you made ; to love and to cherish and to not throw away perfectly good food.
I'm John Fischer with Living Less Unsustainably.
