New Squatch Food Waste Campaign

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June 05, 2018
Sustainable Connections announces the new Squatch Food Waste campaign which will help individuals and businesses “squatch” their food waste, and rescue 30,000 pounds of prepared foods in order to re-route it to Whatcom families in need.
 
Thanks to a grant from the Department of Ecology, Sustainable Connections is expanding their Toward Zero Waste program to include food recovery from businesses in Whatcom County and increase education to help individuals and business owners decrease the amount of wasted food they create.
 
Wasted food is a big problem both in Whatcom County and across the United States. Nearly 40% of the food produced in the US is never eaten, this equates to nearly $160 billion in lost revenue and puts a tremendous strain on natural resources. At the same time, one in four Whatcom residents is food insecure and 27% live in a food deserts.
 
Currently 17 food establishment have signed up for this new campaign and are now donating their surplus prepared food. Mark Peterson, who manages the new initiative, is incredibly grateful, “We feel so fortunate to have a business community that understands the problem and is passionate about solving it. Early adopters like Mt. Baker Care Center, Boundary Bay Brewing, the Community Food Coop and Papa John’s Pizza have really helped this program gain momentum. We started small, providing between 5-10 meals a day, and now provide over 25 each day. The numbers keep climbing.”
 
Squatch Food Waste is also calling for all individuals and families to pledge to Squatch their food waste. Those interested can visit www.SquatchFoodWaste.org to submit their pledge and dig into a variety of tools, tips, and resources to make reducing food waste easy and fun. Businesses interested in participating can visit www.SquatchFoodWaste.org to learn more and sign up, too!