MPR News with Angela Davis

With 40 percent of food getting wasted, what are your strategies for wasting less?

Organics are compacted inside the Xcel Energy Center.
Organic waste from the previous night's Minnesota Wild game is compacted in the bowels of the Xcel Energy Center on Feb. 9. The waste consists both of food scraps and special compostable items like silverware and napkins.
Evan Frost | MPR News 2017

No one actually intends to waste food, and yet, it happens. 

Even if you’re great at meal planning and buy only the food you know you’ll need over the next several days, life sometimes gets in the way. And then fresh produce goes bad and gets thrown out.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 40 percent of food is thrown out.

And our farming, grocery and restaurant industries all contribute to food waste as well. 

But we could do better. Wasted food could instead help feed people who are struggling financially. And if we cut down our food waste, we are helping to cut back greenhouse gas emissions. 

MPR News host Angela Davis spoke with expert guests about how we can prevent food waste.

Guests:

  • Kelly Kunkel is a health and nutrition educator with the University of Minnesota Extension in Mankato.

  • May Klug is the garden and foodshare coordinator for North Country Food Alliance, a worker-run non-profit that works to build a more sustainable local food system in Twin Cities Metro area 

  • Cauê Suplicy is the founder of Barnana, a snack company that focuses on reducing food waste in banana and plantain farms

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.