Town Launches Greenwich Food Matters Challenge

Information from Waste Free Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — The Town of Greenwich, in partnership with Waste Free Greenwich and the Center for EcoTechnology, recently announced the start of the Greenwich Food Matters Challenge, a program to encourage local businesses to adopt food-saving practices to prevent food from going to waste in the first place, rescue surplus for food insecure neighbors and recycle any remaining food scraps.

"The goal of food waste reduction is environmentally friendly, helpful to businesses and is the very essence of humanitarianism," said First Selectman Fred Camillo in a news release. "We encourage local businesses to get involved and help our town lead the way when it comes to preventing, rescuing and recycling food waste."

Up to 40 percent of the food produced in the United States goes uneaten, and over 22 percent of Connecticut’s waste stream is composed of food scraps, according to a news release from Waste Free Greenwich. Addressing wasted food will enable Greenwich to conserve natural resources, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and support the food insecure.

The Greenwich Food Matters Challenge is an opportunity to understand the problem of food waste and explore solutions by engaging the business sector, one of the largest food waste generators in our community.

Greenwich businesses are invited to apply online for the challenge until Thursday, March 31. Selected participants will work with the Center for EcoTechnology and Waste Free Greenwich to assess their practices, develop an action plan and implement tailored strategies.

Food-saving practices that businesses can adopt include donating food through Food Rescue US Fairfield County, recycling food scraps using an organics hauler and implementing preventative measures, like flexible portions, recipes incorporating food usually discarded or repurposing surplus foods.

Businesses participating in this challenge will be recognized by the organizers and town leadership, and they will receive no-cost technical assistance from CET, which is currently under contract with CT DEEP to help businesses and institutions reduce waste.

"We are excited to be working with The Town of Greenwich and Waste Free Greenwich to introduce this Food Matters Challenge to the community," said CET President John Majercak in a news release. "It’s inspiring to work with innovative communities like Greenwich that can lay the groundwork for initiatives like this in other communities."

The challenge offers many benefits to local businesses and the broader community. Research shows that reducing waste in restaurants can result in significant cost savings, an average of $7 per pound of food waste prevented, Waste Free Greenwich said.

The Greenwich Food Matters Challenge is modeled on the Philadelphia Food Waste Business Challenge led by Center for EcoTechnology, as well as NRDC’s food waste initiatives in Nashville and Denver.

The challenge continues the work of the First Selectman’s Waste Management Committee to explore solutions to waste management in our community.

For further information, click here or contact wastefreegreenwich@gmail.com.