waste into taste

Waste and Taste is a program in Pierce County, Washington that aims to decrease food waste and food insecurity. The founder, Ashley Rassett, grew up in a family of seven and experienced firsthand the struggle of relying on free school meals and food banks. Currently, the county wastes 4,000 tons of edible food each year while 94,000 people are food insecure. The program works by having local restaurants create an account on the Waste and Taste website and upload meals or food resources they will be getting rid of. Families in need can then search for available food items and pick them up from the restaurant. This helps bridge the gap between food resources and those in need. The program has been successful in helping families like Mark and Mary, who were struggling financially and had their local food bank run out of supplies. Through Waste and Taste, they were able to find a nearby coffee shop that had milk and bread available. The program has made a positive impact on their family du Hey guys, welcome to Waste and Taste, where we break down food waste and food insecurity of Pierce County, Washington. For today's show, I wanted to introduce myself and give a brief overview of what Waste and Taste is all about, and how you can help us decrease food waste and food insecurity. My name is Ashley Rassett. I am the founder of Waste and Taste Health Campaign. The goal of our program is to bring awareness to edible food waste and food insecurity. Growing up, I was the oldest of five kids. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, and my dad worked three jobs to help make ends meet. He would get up early in the morning and head to his daytime job as a cremator for a local funeral home. After work, he would come home, grab his supplies, and head out to his janitorial job, cleaning doctor's offices and funeral homes. This would typically be another five to six hours of work. Then, he would return home and go to bed. But most nights, he spent on call for the funeral home, where he would make house calls when loved ones passed away. My dad was a hard worker. He did everything he could to help keep us afloat. Unfortunately, with a family of seven, that was difficult. Even with three jobs, our family relied on free school meals and food banks to help supplement us. Knowing the struggle firsthand, I wanted to create a program that would help boost our local food resources for those in need. Currently, in Pierce County, Washington, there's 4,000 tons of edible food wasted yearly, while 94,000 people are food insecure. In our county, there's over 70 food banks. But with the current uptick in needs, five of those pantries each week run out of food. Monthly, our county's emergency food network budget is exceeded by 40%, which leaves a big gap between food resources and those in need. You may be asking, what can be done to bridge that gap? We think the answer is waste into taste. The next question you might be asking is, how does the program work? Well, that's a great question. Let me tell you. Through our research, we learned that one big area of edible food waste in our country is restaurants. Most of the time, food is thrown out at the end of the day when it's not used, or it's thrown out when it has reached its expiration date. We think one great way to help reduce this food waste is for local restaurants to log onto our website and create an account. Then each day, they can upload meals or food resources they will be getting rid of, which then allows families in need to search for available food items. If they find something they want, they can click on it, mark it as taken, and then head to the restaurant to pick it up. It's that simple. Through this process, we hope to decrease edible food waste while decreasing food insecurity to bridge the gap between food resources and those in need. I recently spoke with a family about their interactions with our program, and this is what they had to say. My name is Mark, and my wife's name is Mary. We've been married for 17 years. I work at a local hardware store, and Mary is a stay-at-home mom. Together we have five kids. I make a few dollars over minimum wage with rising grocery costs and gas costs. We are finding it even harder to get by. Luckily, we live just a few blocks from our local food bank and have been able to get extra food as needed. A couple weeks ago, I missed a few days of work due to a medical procedure, which means that that week's paycheck was short. Mary knew the check would be smaller, so she prepared by signing up for a food bank pickup last Friday. Friday afternoon rolled around, and Mary headed to grab the order. When she arrived, there was a sign that read, We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we have run out of milk, eggs, and bread for the week. Mary read this and instantly broke into tears. It's stressful when you know you don't have enough means to feed your family and then your local food bank runs out of supplies. As she pulled up to grab the rest of the order, a man helping load the food apologized for the inconvenience. Although he didn't have all the food we had requested, he did share about another local program he had just learned about, which is connecting those in need with restaurants that have food access. He gave her a flyer with the information about Waste into Taste. When Mary returned home, she got on the computer and created an account and was able to see a list of local restaurants with food supplies. It was great! She was able to find a coffee shop that was 5 miles away with a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. The process was simple and convenient. We have used Waste into Taste a few more times when we have been in need, and it really has helped our family when times are tough. Thanks for tuning in today. If you are in need or if someone you know is in need, or if you own a local restaurant and would love to donate, head to Waste into Taste and sign up today.