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A Food Recovery Story
After seeing recent media coverage regarding food waste in the United States, I became interested in the subject. The statistics that 30-40% of the food we produce never makes it to the table really struck me and I decided to investigate further. I began researching; watching news videos and a documentary on the topic entitled “Just Eat It”. I contacted local organizations that are using creative methods to combat the food waste issue. Food Recovery (or Food Rescue) is the practice of diverting perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it. This recovery can take place at many stages of the food production and distribution process. I found Food Recovery to be an important part of the food waste story, as it works to solve a piece of this complicated problem.
These photos were taken over the course of a three-month period from October to December 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Above: Farmers deliver produce that would otherwise be thrown out, like these cucumbers, every Thursday to the Imperfect Produce warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
*Click photos to enlarge!
After seeing recent media coverage regarding food waste in the United States, I became interested in the subject. The statistics that 30-40% of the food we produce never makes it to the table really struck me and I decided to investigate further. I began researching; watching news videos and a documentary on the topic entitled “Just Eat It”. I contacted local organizations that are using creative methods to combat the food waste issue. Food Recovery (or Food Rescue) is the practice of diverting perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it. This recovery can take place at many stages of the food production and distribution process. I found Food Recovery to be an important part of the food waste story, as it works to solve a piece of this complicated problem.
These photos were taken over the course of a three-month period from October to December 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Above: Farmers deliver produce that would otherwise be thrown out, like these cucumbers, every Thursday to the Imperfect Produce warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
*Click photos to enlarge!
Imperfect Produce
Imperfect Produce out of Emeryville, California is a produce delivery service that delivers “ugly” produce to homes and offices. They source produce, directly from farmers, that would otherwise be rejected and thrown away for minor cosmetic defects by traditional produce distributers and supermarkets. Produce may be rejected if it is not the right size, shape, or color. Farmers usually throw it away or compost it, as it is not cost effective to transport, distribute or donate it. Imperfect Produce is looking to recover some of this produce at a discount and pass some of the savings along to customers.
I visited their warehouse in October 2015 just two months after they opened in August 2015. Since then they have expanded their coverage (and changed theri name to Imperfect Foods) to not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but to the West South Central region, Midwest, Northwest and all along the West Coast of the US.
Above: Imperfect Produce CEO Ben Simon, back, packs produce into delivery boxes, alongside the Community Manager John Zamora, front, at their warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Imperfect Produce out of Emeryville, California is a produce delivery service that delivers “ugly” produce to homes and offices. They source produce, directly from farmers, that would otherwise be rejected and thrown away for minor cosmetic defects by traditional produce distributers and supermarkets. Produce may be rejected if it is not the right size, shape, or color. Farmers usually throw it away or compost it, as it is not cost effective to transport, distribute or donate it. Imperfect Produce is looking to recover some of this produce at a discount and pass some of the savings along to customers.
I visited their warehouse in October 2015 just two months after they opened in August 2015. Since then they have expanded their coverage (and changed theri name to Imperfect Foods) to not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but to the West South Central region, Midwest, Northwest and all along the West Coast of the US.
Above: Imperfect Produce CEO Ben Simon, back, packs produce into delivery boxes, alongside the Community Manager John Zamora, front, at their warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Kelsey Forbes, the Operations Manager of Imperfect Produce, packs perfectly good "ugly" produce into delivery boxes. Fridays are a busy packing day to prepare over 800 boxes for their Saturday home delivery. Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
A box of "imperfect" pomegranates wait to be sorted by Imperfect Produce employees in their Emeryville, Calif. warehouse. October 30, 2015.
John Jeter, front, Ugly Produce Enthusiast for Imperfect Produce packs potatoes into produce boxes, while John Zamora, Community Manager, adds carrots to the boxes behind him in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Village Harvest
Village Harvest is a non-profit out of the South Bay that organizes gleaning volunteer events to collect leftover crops and produce that would otherwise go to waste from small orchards and residential backyards with fruit trees. After a farm’s crop has been commercially harvested there is no longer economic incentive to harvest the remaining produce and gleaning is a method of recovering some of it. The produce collected by volunteers of Village Harvest is donated to local food agencies to feed the hungry. Their 2015 Harvest to Date amounts total 184,997 lbs. of produce diverted from landfills.
Above: Shirley Chang and her son, 9th grader Nathaniel Chang, harvest persimmons for Village Harvest. Shirley Chang has been bringing her son to volunteer at various Village Harvest events since he was eight years old. She believes it is important to teach her children about volunteerism. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Village Harvest is a non-profit out of the South Bay that organizes gleaning volunteer events to collect leftover crops and produce that would otherwise go to waste from small orchards and residential backyards with fruit trees. After a farm’s crop has been commercially harvested there is no longer economic incentive to harvest the remaining produce and gleaning is a method of recovering some of it. The produce collected by volunteers of Village Harvest is donated to local food agencies to feed the hungry. Their 2015 Harvest to Date amounts total 184,997 lbs. of produce diverted from landfills.
Above: Shirley Chang and her son, 9th grader Nathaniel Chang, harvest persimmons for Village Harvest. Shirley Chang has been bringing her son to volunteer at various Village Harvest events since he was eight years old. She believes it is important to teach her children about volunteerism. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
A bucket of freshly gleaned persimmons wait to be carried by volunteers to large delivery crates that will be picked up later that day by a truck for Gilroy's St. Joseph's Family Center. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Shinning Hsu and Jim Chou, volunteers of Village Harvest, sort the persimmons that will be donated. Chou is a longtime volunteer of 10 years and Shu has been volunteering since she relocated to the Bay Area in February 2015. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Large crates fill quickly as over 20 volunteers harvest persimmons from a small orchard in Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Food Runners
Food Runners is a San Francisco based non-profit that relays unwanted or excess food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and events, to organizations in need. Volunteers drive their own vehicles and pick-up unwanted food and then drop it off, that same day, to organizations in need. Businesses who have food to donate simply pack it up and fill in the online donation form or use the Food Runners app to schedule a pick up. Over 250 active volunteers recover and deliver 17 tons of food a week to approximately 150 organizations.
Above: Dave Roche, a volunteer for Food Runners, delivers good food that would otherwise have been thrwon out, to chef Alvin Kately at Walden House in San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Food Runners is a San Francisco based non-profit that relays unwanted or excess food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and events, to organizations in need. Volunteers drive their own vehicles and pick-up unwanted food and then drop it off, that same day, to organizations in need. Businesses who have food to donate simply pack it up and fill in the online donation form or use the Food Runners app to schedule a pick up. Over 250 active volunteers recover and deliver 17 tons of food a week to approximately 150 organizations.
Above: Dave Roche, a volunteer for Food Runners, delivers good food that would otherwise have been thrwon out, to chef Alvin Kately at Walden House in San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Volunteer David Roche picks up a large cartful of excess food from Real Food Co. employee Enrico at their Polk St. location. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Dave Roche's trunkful of recovered groceries and prepared food, ready for delivery to organizations in need. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
I rode along with Dave as he made all of his pick ups. We stopped at a boutique sweets shop, two grocery stores, a bakery and a restuarant.
I rode along with Dave as he made all of his pick ups. We stopped at a boutique sweets shop, two grocery stores, a bakery and a restuarant.
Dave Roche, takes a moment to talk with Renee Strong, the Recreation Coordinator of Hamilton Rec Center, as he drops off food to the organization. Hamilton Rec has community programs for seniors, childhood development, day camps and more. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
San Francisco Produce Terminal Dumpsters
It is easy to find places where large amounts of food are being wasted and discarded. Doing a little research and keeping your eye out, you will be surprised by the scale of the problem. At home there is food we don’t eat before it goes bad or leftovers in restaurants that go to waste, but a lot of food is being thrown away even before it ever makes it into consumer’s hands. San Francisco has a large Produce Terminal where over 30 produce wholesalers (and their dumpsters) are located. It is in an industrial area of the Bayview district and not somewhere you would likely see or pass by unless you were there for business. Outside of these distribution companies there are dumpsters full of food. Many of the dumpsters are locked to prevent dumpster diving (the salvaging of waste by people from dumpsters), but there are some that are open where you can get a glimpse of the waste. There is packaged and processed food, as well as stickered produce that somehow never made it to its intended final destination, our tables.
Above: A dumpster full of packed rice noodles and rice sheets, sits outside Rice Valley food distributor on Innes Ave in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
It is easy to find places where large amounts of food are being wasted and discarded. Doing a little research and keeping your eye out, you will be surprised by the scale of the problem. At home there is food we don’t eat before it goes bad or leftovers in restaurants that go to waste, but a lot of food is being thrown away even before it ever makes it into consumer’s hands. San Francisco has a large Produce Terminal where over 30 produce wholesalers (and their dumpsters) are located. It is in an industrial area of the Bayview district and not somewhere you would likely see or pass by unless you were there for business. Outside of these distribution companies there are dumpsters full of food. Many of the dumpsters are locked to prevent dumpster diving (the salvaging of waste by people from dumpsters), but there are some that are open where you can get a glimpse of the waste. There is packaged and processed food, as well as stickered produce that somehow never made it to its intended final destination, our tables.
Above: A dumpster full of packed rice noodles and rice sheets, sits outside Rice Valley food distributor on Innes Ave in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Bell peppers, still wrapped cucumbers, lettuce and other produce, fill a dumpster on Jerrold Ave. on a rainy Sunday in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Limes, jalapenos, basil and bok choy line the bottom of a recently emptied dumpster on Jerrold Ave. in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Empty dumpsters at the San Francisco Produce Terminal. December 6, 2015.
A Food Recovery Story
After seeing recent media coverage regarding food waste in the United States, I became interested in the subject. The statistics that 30-40% of the food we produce never makes it to the table really struck me and I decided to investigate further. I began researching; watching news videos and a documentary on the topic entitled “Just Eat It”. I contacted local organizations that are using creative methods to combat the food waste issue. Food Recovery (or Food Rescue) is the practice of diverting perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it. This recovery can take place at many stages of the food production and distribution process. I found Food Recovery to be an important part of the food waste story, as it works to solve a piece of this complicated problem.
These photos were taken over the course of a three-month period from October to December 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Above: Farmers deliver produce that would otherwise be thrown out, like these cucumbers, every Thursday to the Imperfect Produce warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
*Click photos to enlarge!
After seeing recent media coverage regarding food waste in the United States, I became interested in the subject. The statistics that 30-40% of the food we produce never makes it to the table really struck me and I decided to investigate further. I began researching; watching news videos and a documentary on the topic entitled “Just Eat It”. I contacted local organizations that are using creative methods to combat the food waste issue. Food Recovery (or Food Rescue) is the practice of diverting perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it. This recovery can take place at many stages of the food production and distribution process. I found Food Recovery to be an important part of the food waste story, as it works to solve a piece of this complicated problem.
These photos were taken over the course of a three-month period from October to December 2015 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Above: Farmers deliver produce that would otherwise be thrown out, like these cucumbers, every Thursday to the Imperfect Produce warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
*Click photos to enlarge!
Imperfect Produce
Imperfect Produce out of Emeryville, California is a produce delivery service that delivers “ugly” produce to homes and offices. They source produce, directly from farmers, that would otherwise be rejected and thrown away for minor cosmetic defects by traditional produce distributers and supermarkets. Produce may be rejected if it is not the right size, shape, or color. Farmers usually throw it away or compost it, as it is not cost effective to transport, distribute or donate it. Imperfect Produce is looking to recover some of this produce at a discount and pass some of the savings along to customers.
I visited their warehouse in October 2015 just two months after they opened in August 2015. Since then they have expanded their coverage (and changed theri name to Imperfect Foods) to not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but to the West South Central region, Midwest, Northwest and all along the West Coast of the US.
Above: Imperfect Produce CEO Ben Simon, back, packs produce into delivery boxes, alongside the Community Manager John Zamora, front, at their warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Imperfect Produce out of Emeryville, California is a produce delivery service that delivers “ugly” produce to homes and offices. They source produce, directly from farmers, that would otherwise be rejected and thrown away for minor cosmetic defects by traditional produce distributers and supermarkets. Produce may be rejected if it is not the right size, shape, or color. Farmers usually throw it away or compost it, as it is not cost effective to transport, distribute or donate it. Imperfect Produce is looking to recover some of this produce at a discount and pass some of the savings along to customers.
I visited their warehouse in October 2015 just two months after they opened in August 2015. Since then they have expanded their coverage (and changed theri name to Imperfect Foods) to not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but to the West South Central region, Midwest, Northwest and all along the West Coast of the US.
Above: Imperfect Produce CEO Ben Simon, back, packs produce into delivery boxes, alongside the Community Manager John Zamora, front, at their warehouse in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Kelsey Forbes, the Operations Manager of Imperfect Produce, packs perfectly good "ugly" produce into delivery boxes. Fridays are a busy packing day to prepare over 800 boxes for their Saturday home delivery. Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
A box of "imperfect" pomegranates wait to be sorted by Imperfect Produce employees in their Emeryville, Calif. warehouse. October 30, 2015.
John Jeter, front, Ugly Produce Enthusiast for Imperfect Produce packs potatoes into produce boxes, while John Zamora, Community Manager, adds carrots to the boxes behind him in Emeryville, Calif. October 30, 2015.
Village Harvest
Village Harvest is a non-profit out of the South Bay that organizes gleaning volunteer events to collect leftover crops and produce that would otherwise go to waste from small orchards and residential backyards with fruit trees. After a farm’s crop has been commercially harvested there is no longer economic incentive to harvest the remaining produce and gleaning is a method of recovering some of it. The produce collected by volunteers of Village Harvest is donated to local food agencies to feed the hungry. Their 2015 Harvest to Date amounts total 184,997 lbs. of produce diverted from landfills.
Above: Shirley Chang and her son, 9th grader Nathaniel Chang, harvest persimmons for Village Harvest. Shirley Chang has been bringing her son to volunteer at various Village Harvest events since he was eight years old. She believes it is important to teach her children about volunteerism. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Village Harvest is a non-profit out of the South Bay that organizes gleaning volunteer events to collect leftover crops and produce that would otherwise go to waste from small orchards and residential backyards with fruit trees. After a farm’s crop has been commercially harvested there is no longer economic incentive to harvest the remaining produce and gleaning is a method of recovering some of it. The produce collected by volunteers of Village Harvest is donated to local food agencies to feed the hungry. Their 2015 Harvest to Date amounts total 184,997 lbs. of produce diverted from landfills.
Above: Shirley Chang and her son, 9th grader Nathaniel Chang, harvest persimmons for Village Harvest. Shirley Chang has been bringing her son to volunteer at various Village Harvest events since he was eight years old. She believes it is important to teach her children about volunteerism. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
A bucket of freshly gleaned persimmons wait to be carried by volunteers to large delivery crates that will be picked up later that day by a truck for Gilroy's St. Joseph's Family Center. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Shinning Hsu and Jim Chou, volunteers of Village Harvest, sort the persimmons that will be donated. Chou is a longtime volunteer of 10 years and Shu has been volunteering since she relocated to the Bay Area in February 2015. Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Large crates fill quickly as over 20 volunteers harvest persimmons from a small orchard in Morgan Hill, Calif. November 21, 2015.
Food Runners
Food Runners is a San Francisco based non-profit that relays unwanted or excess food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and events, to organizations in need. Volunteers drive their own vehicles and pick-up unwanted food and then drop it off, that same day, to organizations in need. Businesses who have food to donate simply pack it up and fill in the online donation form or use the Food Runners app to schedule a pick up. Over 250 active volunteers recover and deliver 17 tons of food a week to approximately 150 organizations.
Above: Dave Roche, a volunteer for Food Runners, delivers good food that would otherwise have been thrwon out, to chef Alvin Kately at Walden House in San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Food Runners is a San Francisco based non-profit that relays unwanted or excess food from restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores and events, to organizations in need. Volunteers drive their own vehicles and pick-up unwanted food and then drop it off, that same day, to organizations in need. Businesses who have food to donate simply pack it up and fill in the online donation form or use the Food Runners app to schedule a pick up. Over 250 active volunteers recover and deliver 17 tons of food a week to approximately 150 organizations.
Above: Dave Roche, a volunteer for Food Runners, delivers good food that would otherwise have been thrwon out, to chef Alvin Kately at Walden House in San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Volunteer David Roche picks up a large cartful of excess food from Real Food Co. employee Enrico at their Polk St. location. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
Dave Roche's trunkful of recovered groceries and prepared food, ready for delivery to organizations in need. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
I rode along with Dave as he made all of his pick ups. We stopped at a boutique sweets shop, two grocery stores, a bakery and a restuarant.
I rode along with Dave as he made all of his pick ups. We stopped at a boutique sweets shop, two grocery stores, a bakery and a restuarant.
Dave Roche, takes a moment to talk with Renee Strong, the Recreation Coordinator of Hamilton Rec Center, as he drops off food to the organization. Hamilton Rec has community programs for seniors, childhood development, day camps and more. San Francisco, Calif. November 13, 2015.
San Francisco Produce Terminal Dumpsters
It is easy to find places where large amounts of food are being wasted and discarded. Doing a little research and keeping your eye out, you will be surprised by the scale of the problem. At home there is food we don’t eat before it goes bad or leftovers in restaurants that go to waste, but a lot of food is being thrown away even before it ever makes it into consumer’s hands. San Francisco has a large Produce Terminal where over 30 produce wholesalers (and their dumpsters) are located. It is in an industrial area of the Bayview district and not somewhere you would likely see or pass by unless you were there for business. Outside of these distribution companies there are dumpsters full of food. Many of the dumpsters are locked to prevent dumpster diving (the salvaging of waste by people from dumpsters), but there are some that are open where you can get a glimpse of the waste. There is packaged and processed food, as well as stickered produce that somehow never made it to its intended final destination, our tables.
Above: A dumpster full of packed rice noodles and rice sheets, sits outside Rice Valley food distributor on Innes Ave in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
It is easy to find places where large amounts of food are being wasted and discarded. Doing a little research and keeping your eye out, you will be surprised by the scale of the problem. At home there is food we don’t eat before it goes bad or leftovers in restaurants that go to waste, but a lot of food is being thrown away even before it ever makes it into consumer’s hands. San Francisco has a large Produce Terminal where over 30 produce wholesalers (and their dumpsters) are located. It is in an industrial area of the Bayview district and not somewhere you would likely see or pass by unless you were there for business. Outside of these distribution companies there are dumpsters full of food. Many of the dumpsters are locked to prevent dumpster diving (the salvaging of waste by people from dumpsters), but there are some that are open where you can get a glimpse of the waste. There is packaged and processed food, as well as stickered produce that somehow never made it to its intended final destination, our tables.
Above: A dumpster full of packed rice noodles and rice sheets, sits outside Rice Valley food distributor on Innes Ave in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Bell peppers, still wrapped cucumbers, lettuce and other produce, fill a dumpster on Jerrold Ave. on a rainy Sunday in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Limes, jalapenos, basil and bok choy line the bottom of a recently emptied dumpster on Jerrold Ave. in San Francisco, Calif. December 6, 2015.
Empty dumpsters at the San Francisco Produce Terminal. December 6, 2015.
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