“Food, glorious food”, sang the orphan boys of the Oliver workhouse. We certainly can’t live without it, and more and more we are struggling to live with it. 

Here is a quote from NY Times bestseller DRAWDOWN: “For more than a third of the world’s labour force the production of food is their livelihood and all are sustained by it. Yet a third of the food raised or prepared does not make it from farm or factory to fork. That number is startling particularly when paired with this one: Hunger is a condition of life for 800 million people. And this one: The food we waste contributes 4.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere each year – roughly 8 percent of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Ranked with countries, food would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally.” 

And Canada is one of the biggest food wasters with close to 60% of food produced every year lost or wasted. 

It makes me crazy that we cannot get a handle on this. 

The writer goes on to say: “Given the complexity of the supply chain the food travels, waste reduction depends on the engagement of diverse actors: food businesses, environmental groups, anti-hunger organizations, and policy makers.” 

Yes! It’s a global issue but as in most cases, we solve it at the local level. Enter ‘environmental group’, EcoCaledon! 

This month a small but mighty sub committee of EcoCaledon, calling themselves Gratitude for Food (GFF), has taken on the challenge of trying to change household habits. 

Looking at the statistics this is a daunting dare. The average Canadian household wastes 140 kg of food per year costing more than $1100. (2.2 million tones countrywide, in excess of $17 billion.) And as GFF co-chair Carolyn Vallejo reminds us, we are also wasting all the resources that go into producing that food. 

She continues, “Reducing food waste can have a hugely positive influence on slowing and eventually reversing global warming. Our aim is to make Caledon residents aware of the issue of food waste and teach them simple, easy ways to reduce it, starting right at home.” 

And the name of the game is JUST EAT IT! Food Waste Challenge. 

Here’s how it works: Registered participants get a free kit with a reusable grocery tote, tip sheet, and guidelines to refer to while completing the challenge. Over the five weeks they will conduct an audit of their own household food waste, share their experience with others, and get valuable tools to reduce the waste, like menu planning, food storage, creative recipes, food preservation techniques and more. 

There are valuable prizes to be won throughout the challenge and a special raffle at the end for those who see it through and do another post-challenge audit. 

Get registered as soon as possible because there is a limit on participants. Deadline to sign on is Dec. 4. 

The JUST EAT IT! Food Waste Challenge launches on January 18th, 2021 and runs for 5 weeks. 

Ready to take a bite out of food waste? Email info@ecocaledon.org or click on the above link to find out more about the fun ahead, all of you warriors trying to do your part in the challenge of Climate Change. 

When we were kicking around all the possibilities of the 100 Solutions to Climate Change in the DrawDown project, we tried to land on something that was possible in and applicable to our Caledon community. The food waste issue seemed to be the most doable for us in this ‘Greenest Town’. Let’s prove EcoCaledon /Gratitude for Food right, and show up – for the next generations. 

To contact GFF re the challenge: Carolyn – 647-627-1030 or Lu –416-505-1454 And remember the caveat: Think globally; act locally! Here is our chance to put it to work.