City Of Fort Worth: Waste Not! Blue Zones, Foodland Honored For Food Recovery Efforts

Press release from City of Fort Worth:

November 11, 2021

 An innovative new program to reduce food waste and support urban farming in Fort Worth is in the spotlight. The Foodland Inc. and Blue Zones Project Fort Worth Culled Produce Recovery program was recently named runner up in the City of Fort Worth’s Environmental Excellence Awards in the Solid Waste Reduction & Recycling category.

Early on in its efforts to make Fort Worth one of the healthiest cities in the nation, Blue Zones Project identified neighborhoods where the cost of fresh produce was out of reach for residents. A complex problem with no quick fix needed to be tackled on many levels, one of which involved partnering with a forward-thinking local grocer to “rescue” produce that would normally go to waste.

Often, grocers must pull perfectly edible produce from stores when those items are passed over by shoppers, perhaps due to odd shapes or colors. Last year, Blue Zones Project teamed up with G.E. Foodland grocers to put that produce to good use. In a first-of-its-kind initiative for Fort Worth, healthy fruits and vegetables that would have gone to waste can now be donated to one of nine Blue Zones Project’s Good For You Pantry locations around the city. The Good For You Pantry program is one of Blue Zones Project’s efforts to make healthy foods more affordable and accessible for area families.

Meanwhile, fruits and vegetables that are past their prime are collected by local service provider Compost Carpool, which helps ensure that the produce is turned into rich compost for urban farms and school gardens. Ultimately, all these efforts are designed to help protect the environment, support local farmers in growing more food, and do a better job of feeding the community.

“With less than 20 years of airspace left at the city’s landfill, it is crucial that we all reduce our waste generation and divert materials that can be reused, recycled, mulched or composted,” said Joao Pimental, senior planner in city’s Solid Waste Services Division. “The accelerated consumption of the remaining airspace affects us all and will require a community effort to be tackled. Partnerships like the one between Foodland Inc. and Blue Zones Project are key to making that happen.”

Today there are three Foodland locations taking part in the Culled Produce Recovery Project, and Foodland Inc. is working to get all its stores on board.

The Good For You Pantry program provides the culled fruits and vegetables to families, while Fort Worth growers — including Opal’s Farm and Mind Your Garden Urban Farm — get up to 1,000 pounds of produce/compost each week.

“Making sure Fort Worth residents have equitable access to healthy foods was a priority before the pandemic, and now it’s more important than ever,” said Matt Dufrene, vice president of Blue Zones Project Fort Worth. “It’s amazing that food once tossed in the trash can have such an impact on our community’s well-being. We are honored that the Environmental Excellence Awards and the City of Fort Worth recognize the commitment of all the Culled Produce Recovery Project partners to turn waste into something good.”

Photo: Healthy fruits and vegetables that would have gone to waste can now be donated to one of nine Blue Zones Project’s Good For You Pantry locations around the city.

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This press release was produced by City of Fort Worth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.