FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAM

At AFC we have a series of programs to both avoid food waste and divert it from the solid waste stream towards better uses. These programs follow the Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy

Source Reduction is inherent in any food service business. The less food that is wasted, the less money wasted as well. The same is true for your food budget at home! (To learn tips you can use to avoid wasting food in your home, take the ReThink Food Waste Challenge.)

Next, AFC offers gleaners to Staff, and partners with Ashland Food Angels to help Feed Hungry People. The Ashland Food Angels collect approximately 28,000 pounds of food annually from AFC that would otherwise go to waste.

Produce and Prepared Foods Departments’ trimmings and Juice Bar pulp are collected by local farms to Feed Animals. This accounts for over 100,000 gallons of feed that is diverted from landfill annually. Eggshells, used coffee grounds and brewed Yerba Maté are collected for Composting.

Ashland Food Angels

>28,000 lbs of healthy, edible food diverted from landfill and given to those in need annually

Reducing food waste is the #1 personal action you can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while safeguarding critical natural resources. When food is wasted, it goes into a landfill, where it breaks down and emits greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). In terms of its climate effects, methane is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide

100,000 gallons pre-consumer food scraps diverted to farm animals annually

Home Tip:

If you would like to divert your own kitchen scraps to compost, check out Rogue Produce’s Community Composting Program.

The Ashland Food Co-op Team is proud to contribute to conserving resources, reducing emissions, and feeding the hungry in our community.