The Town of Greenwich, in partnership with Waste Free Greenwich and the Center for EcoTechnology, challenges local businesses to reduce food waste through prevention, rescue and recycling by participating in the Greenwich Food Matters Challenge.
The Greenwich Food Matters Challenge is a new initiative to engage local businesses to adopt food-saving practices to reduce the amount of food going to waste, donate surplus food and recycle food scraps. The participating businesses will work directly with the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) and Waste Free Greenwich to identify how and when food waste is created, identify goals to target this waste and implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce, repurpose, and divert wasted food. The program focuses on a holistic approach and targets both pre- and post-consumer food waste.
By implementing strategies across the US EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy, businesses can save money on food purchasing and disposal costs. Example food-saving practices include implementing source separation and composting, commencing food donation, offering flexible portion sizes, utilizing food parts that would otherwise go unused, making free bread and chips optional. The Town of Greenwich and Waste Free Greenwich will actively promote the campaign and participants in it, which will help elevate town-wide awareness of the food waste challenge, attract more participation, and amplify the impacts of any individual instance of technical assistance. The selected businesses will collaborate directly with Waste Free Greenwich and CET for 3 months.
How to participate:
1) Apply: Complete the online application now through March 31. The challenge is open to all food service providers in Greenwich, including restaurants, hospitality providers, grocers and health care facilities.
2) Plan: Selected businesses evaluate their needs and priorities and select a minimum of three food-saving practices to implement, in coordination with the organizers. April 1-30.
3) Implement: Participants implement food-saving practices during the challenge period. May 1-June 30.
Participation benefits:
● No-cost technical assistance provided by the Center for EcoTechnology, a national leader in food waste reduction
● Recognition by the Office of the First Selectman
● Inclusion in media coverage
● Invitation to a thank-you event
● Window cling for your business
● Benefits to the community include increased donations to food insecure neighbors, reducing the amount of organic waste sent to incineration and raising local awareness about food waste
To apply for the Greenwich Food Matters Challenge and for full details, scan the QR code or visit: https://www.wastefreegreenwich.org/greenwich-food-matters-challenge
