Since 1970, Americans have come together every April 22 to take action and raise awareness for environmental sustainability.
Move For Hunger and Asbury Fresh celebrated Earth Day this year by hosting an Urban Composting Workshop in Asbury Park, NJ. The aim of the event was to bring the community together in an effort to reduce food waste.
A recent study by the Potsdam Institute For Climate Impact Research, estimated that by 2050 one tenth of all greenhouse gas emissions could be traced back to food waste.
While that is a troubling statistic, the good news is that there are steps that we all can take in our kitchens and backyards to help mitigate these effects.
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Chef Dan showed us how to get creative with our leftovers.[/caption]
Chef Dan Vogt of Hello Chef in Long Branch, who specializes in wholesome, fresh foods, opened the program. He’s a strong proponent of reducing food waste and incorporates that philosophy into his cooking.
For our workshop, Chef Dan demonstrated how to make a simple gazpacho from little more than some leftover fruits & vegetables and crushed ice. He urged the group to find creative, but practical, ways to use what they might ordinarily get rid of.
“Some people just chuck everything. Look through your fridge and see what you have that might be on its way out. Maybe you could make a salsa, a relish…whatever you want. Food processors are great for that.”
Everyone had a chance to sample the recipe, which was delicious and a perfect choice for a warm spring evening.
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Mmm, gazpacho![/caption]
After the taste test, Chef Dan fielded questions from the group. Part of the discussion focused on how to safely prepare fresh fruits and vegetables when an organic option is not available.
“We don’t peel any of our carrots; we wash them with kind of a soft sponge. We don’t peel any of our root vegetables, at all. There’s quality nutrients in there and when you peel it you’re throwing away all that vegetable.”
He encouraged everyone to expand their horizons and to give exotic fresh foods a chance.
“Try something new every time you’re out because you really can come up with a lot of cool ideas. Whenever I’m shopping I try to grab something I haven’t tried before.”
Following Chef Dan was Move For Hunger’s Events Coordinator, Abbey Zembower, who explained the basic practices and environmental benefits of composting.
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Abbey breaks down the basics of home composting.[/caption]
Abbey noted that an estimated 40% of all food produced in the United States each year ends up in a landfill. When organic material, such as food waste, gets buried in a dump and is deprived of oxygen, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more harmful than carbon dioxide. Composting allows the material to decompose aerobically, which significantly reduces the amount of methane that is released into the atmosphere.
Each of the workshop’s attendees received a Countertop Compost Collector, courtesy of Full Circle Home. Abbey described how they could begin to reduce food waste in their kitchens by storing their organic waste in the collector, rather than tossing it in the trashcan.
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Everyone in attendance received a countertop compost collector, courtesy of Full Circle Home.[/caption]
Our burgeoning enthusiasts were instructed to then transfer the contents of their brand-new countertop collectors to an outdoor container, such as a five-gallon bucket. The key to composting, Abbey explained, was to ensure that you blend an equal portion of greens (fruit and vegetable materials, grass clippings) and browns (leaves, twigs, soil). She suggested drilling holes in the bottom of the bucket to drain moisture and recommended turning the mixture often to ensure enough oxygen was circulating. Adding worms to the mix would also assist in the process.
Abbey concluded the event by opening it up to questions from the group. The composting queries ranged from whether or not the countertop collector would “emit a stench” (no!) to whether or not the worms could be re-used (maybe!).
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Thank you to Asbury Fresh and Cowerks for hosting the event![/caption]
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate Earth Day with us! We hope you had as much fun as we did!
We’d also like to extend a very special thank you to Asbury Fresh, Hello Chef, and Full Circle home. The event would not have been possible without their support!
For more on Asbury Fresh and details on their farmers and makers market, click here!
To see what Chef Dan has on the menu at Hello Chef and to learn more about his meal plan & personal services, click here!
