Food Waste Reduction Initiative Happening Now April is Food Waste Reduction Month! Check out the Food Waste Reduction Month Proclamation. You can get involved by participating in the #AVLFoodWasteChallenge — Ongoing throughout the month of April! Get more challenge details here. Print this home food waste audit worksheet,and use it to track your food waste at home for the week, or the whole month! Take a photo and post it with the hashtag above to enter. Other quick and easy ways to enter the challenge include snapping a photo of your home food waste hack, your compost pile, or anytime you see food waste in action at home or in the community. Each photo posted with the hashtag #AVLFoodWasteChallenge enters you to win a great prize, you can enter as many times as you want! In July 2020 the Office of Sustainability was selected to participate in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Food Matters Regional Initiative Southeastern cohort alongside Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, and Orlando. This project aims to build a foundation for organizing and expanding the City of Asheville’s food waste reduction initiatives in partnership with key community stakeholders. Through this initiative, the Office of Sustainability is exploring food waste strategies at city facilities, supporting community coalition building and strengthening the visibility of the community food waste reduction efforts. Look for the “Save the Food Asheville” logo on sanitation trucks, social media and popping up around town as we collaborate with community partners to share tips and tricks to keep food out of the landfill. Keep up to date on campaign activities, events and resources by following @wncfoodwaste on social media and checking out the Food Wast Solutions WNC website HERE. Have a cooking tip, photo of your compost bin or other resources to share? Use hashtag #savethefoodavl and #savethefoodwnc to keep the conversation going! Background In 2017 Asheville City Council adopted a revised Food Policy Action Plan. Resolution 17-257 identified Resource Stewardship as a focus area with an objective to “create an actionable plan for city food waste recovery, composting and redistribution”. Up to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted contributing to extensive environmental, economic and societal impacts. Up to 400 pounds of food per person is wasted annually with a family of four spending at least $1,800/year on wasted food. Here in Buncombe County an estimated 57,500 tons of food is wasted annually. This is food that could feed our neighbors, dollars that could otherwise circulate in our local economies, and landfill space dedicated to unnecessary waste. The Food Waste Reduction Initiative aims to provide useful information and tips to residents seeking ways to reduce their household food waste, pilot opportunities for community compost drop sites, elevate the message of food waste reduction, and model food waste reduction initiatives in city facilities. Timeline January-March 2021 Food Waste Prevention Month Proclamation Public Education campaign on Food waste April – June 2020 Conduct food waste snapshot audits at city facilities, publish results Launch community composting site Resources City of Asheville Sanitation Division – information on recycling and waste reduction initiatives Food Waste Solutions WNC – community network including tips, tricks, and local resources Supporting Documents Food Waste Reduction Month Proclamation Resolution 20-25 Climate Emergency Declaration Climate Resilience Assessment Resolution 11-77 Establishing 4% CO2 Reduction Goal Resolution 14-27 Waste Reduction Goal and Benchmarks Resolution 17-257 Food Policy Action Plan Contact Information Kiera Bulan, Sustainability Coordinator Related Services Dispose of large, seasonal or unusual items Information about disposing of large or unusual items such as furniture, household hazardous waste, or appliances. As well as instructions for brush, leaves, or Christmas trees. 3 Services Recycling guidelines Information on what can be recycled, how to prepare items for collection, and composting. 4 Services More Related Services Food Waste Reduction Initiative News Ways Asheville can celebrate Earth Day all this month Posted on April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Here are some ways our Asheville community can celebrate Earth Month locally — leading up to Earth Day on April 22! Participate in Food Waste Reduction Month — Asheville City Council proclaimed April as Food Waste Reduction Month. More than 57,000 tons of food waste is generated in Buncombe County [...] City of Asheville raises food waste awareness, invites residents to join #AVLFoodWasteChallenge Posted on March 24, 2021April 5, 2021 by Polly McDaniel This week, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer signed a proclamation declaring April “Food Waste Reduction Month.” The City’s Office of Sustainability is working with our local Food Waste Solutions group alongside other innovative cities in the Southeast to develop and implement food waste initiatives. This “Food Matters” project is facilitated through [...] City of Asheville participates in the energy regulatory process Posted on January 29, 2021January 29, 2021 by Ashley Traynum-Carson The City and the community have demonstrated leadership in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change locally but we recognize that climate change is a global issue. Due to this complexity the City continues to advocate for clean energy and climate mitigation policy at all levels of government and we are excited to [...] More Food Waste Reduction Initiative News
Ways Asheville can celebrate Earth Day all this month Posted on April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 by Polly McDaniel Here are some ways our Asheville community can celebrate Earth Month locally — leading up to Earth Day on April 22! Participate in Food Waste Reduction Month — Asheville City Council proclaimed April as Food Waste Reduction Month. More than 57,000 tons of food waste is generated in Buncombe County [...]
City of Asheville raises food waste awareness, invites residents to join #AVLFoodWasteChallenge Posted on March 24, 2021April 5, 2021 by Polly McDaniel This week, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer signed a proclamation declaring April “Food Waste Reduction Month.” The City’s Office of Sustainability is working with our local Food Waste Solutions group alongside other innovative cities in the Southeast to develop and implement food waste initiatives. This “Food Matters” project is facilitated through [...]
City of Asheville participates in the energy regulatory process Posted on January 29, 2021January 29, 2021 by Ashley Traynum-Carson The City and the community have demonstrated leadership in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change locally but we recognize that climate change is a global issue. Due to this complexity the City continues to advocate for clean energy and climate mitigation policy at all levels of government and we are excited to [...]