Food Waste Prevention Week 2024!

Food Waste Prevention Week is a national movement to educate and inspire real cultural change around food waste to help families save money, reduce the negative impact of food waste on the environment, and address hunger in our communities. Check out our 2024 events below and for more information on the national movement, visit Food Waste Prevention Week.

ALL WEEK LONG!

At DIG in Bethesda, enjoy a low-waste plate featuring roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes (and the skins!)  DIG will donate $2 from each plate sold to Manna. (Apr 1-7)

At Brightwood Pizza in DC, try special menu items made with upcycled ingredients like surplus mushrooms and lime powder made from ground sun-dried lime husks. (Apr 1-7)

Teaism in DC is featuring a bread pudding made from surplus ginger scones. Order them all week (Apr 1-7) and sample them at Teaism’s Dupont Circle location during the Tea With Gardener Brian event on Saturday, Apr 6 (see event details below.) 

Chris Girardot with RavenHook will be selling bread pudding and other upcycled foods at DC’s Lost Generation (Mar 31 only, see event details below.)

 

ALL WEEK LONG!

Stop by your neighborhood grocery store to learn how to donate edible food and channel it to neighbors in need. Take home informational brochures, magnets and other information on how Food is Too Good to Waste

Mon, 4/1  2:00-6:00 PM: Great Wall Supermarket, 700 Hungerford Drive in Rockville * Tue, 4/2  2:00-6:00 PM: Korean Korner, 12207 Veirs Mill Road in Silver Spring * Wed, 4/3  2:00-6:00 PM: Giant, 20944 Frederick Road in Germantown * Thu, 4/4  2:00-6:00 PM: Giant, 20944 Frederick Road in Germantown * Fri, 4/5  2:00-6:00 PM: Mega Mart, 1101 University Blvd East in Takoma Park * Sat, 4/6  2:00-6:00 PM: Fresh Farm Farmers Market, 1 Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring * Sun, 4/7  2:00-6:00 PM: Food Lion, 845 Rockville Pike in Rockville  

Presented by: Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection

 

SATURDAY, MAR 30   10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Join us at Eastern Market for the Zero Waste DC Community Fair to celebrate the release of the Zero Waste DC Plan and highlight zero waste resources. Featured activities include: * Cooking Scrappy Demonstration with Chef Bertrand Brown-Orleans *  Bicycle Repair Clinic, offered by The Bike House * Children’s Clothing Swap hosted by Climate Classes DC * Small Battery and Cell Phone Recycling, with Call2Recycle.

Presented by: DC Department of Public Works, in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environment

GET MORE INFO AND REGISTER HERE

 

SUNDAY, MAR 31   5:00 – 9:00 PM

Lost Generation Brewery has partnered with RavenHook Bakehouse and Food Rescue US-DC to brew a beer infused with RavenHook’s sourdough-based bread, loaded with raisins and pecans. Come buy a pint or two of beer, learn about how it was made, sample snacks made from rescued RavenHook bread, meet local organizations involved in reducing, rescuing, and recycling wasted food, and participate in Lost Generation’s trivia night, where your food waste knowledge will be tested! Organizations will be tabling from 5-7 pm, and trivia is first come, first served from 7-9 pm. The brewery will serve the rescued brew throughout the week until it runs out!

Presented by: Community Food Rescue, Food Rescue US-DC, Lost Generation Brewing Company and RavenHook Bakehouse

REGISTER HERE

 

WEDNESDAY, APR 3   4:00 – 6:00 PM

Join us for a celebratory happy hour event at 7 Locks Brewing in honor of Food Waste Prevention Week. As part of the Food Council’s MoCo Made program, 7 Locks Brewing contributes to the recycling stream by donating spent grains to a local farmer. This is your chance to get together with diverse members of the food waste and food recovery communities for an evening of networking and knowledge-sharing.

Presented by: Montgomery County Food Council, Manna Food Center, Community Food Rescue, Compost Crew

REGISTER HERE

 

WEDNESDAY, APR 3   5:00 – 6:00 PM

Join the Food Policy Council’s April meeting to hear updates on DC’s Curbside Composting Pilot, a recap of DC’s grants that have supported businesses tackling food waste, and more! You will also receive an overview of key updates from the Mayor’s proposed 2025 budget and updates from the Working Groups.  

Presented by: DC Food Policy Council

REGISTER HERE

 

THURSDAY, APR 4   10:30 – 11:30 AM

Join us at DC Central Kitchen to learn how we utilize the Leanpath Waste Tracking tool at our main kitchen. We’ll review the online analysis tools, discuss successes and goals to reduce food waste, and then visit our kitchen to see it in action.

Presented by: DC Central Kitchen

REGISTER HERE

 

THURSDAY, APR 4   12:00 – 12:50 PM

Local governments are well-positioned to address our nation’s food waste problem, in large part because they are responsible for managing municipal solid waste and addressing food insecurity in their communities. However, designing, adopting, and implementing policies to meet food waste reduction targets can be a daunting and resource-intensive task. In this webinar, the Environmental Law Institute and other experts will share how new tools can help local governments adopt and implement policies to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

Presented by: Environmental Law Institute

REGISTER HERE

 

FRIDAY, APR 5   5:00 – 6:00 PM

Did you miss this during FWPW? No worries, you can watch the webinar to learn how to lead a team of co-workers in the 4-week Make the Most of Food @ Home challenge in which households track discarded food, take action, and share ideas and results. Recycle Leaders introduced the what, why, and how of the challenge and seriously fun team leaders shared how they maintained high retention rates and achieved reported reductions in food waste greater than 50%.

Presented by: Recycle Leaders

 

SATURDAY, APR 6   10:30 – 11:30 AM

Join us at Teaism (Dupont Circle location) for a chat with gardener and tea importer Brian Wright. He’ll speak about bringing native plants to Teaism’s Dupont Circle garden as well as using tea scraps for composting and gardening. Each registrant will receive complimentary tea and an upcycled sweet. *Space is limited so reserve your spot soon!

Presented by: Teaism and Eat Or Toss

REGISTER HERE

 

SUNDAY, APR 7   10:00 & 11:00 AM

Join Manna Food Center and Compost Crew at the Bethesda Central Farm Market for a 45-minute demonstration on how to start your own food scrap bucket at home. Food scrap buckets are a great way to reduce food waste and help the environment! Materials will be provided for attendees to take home their own buckets.

Presented by: Manna Food Center, Community Food Rescue, Compost Crew, Bethesda Central Farm Market

REGISTER HERE

Root-to-Stem Cooking Demos

During Food Waste Prevention Week, recently graduated cooks from STEP made Root-to-Stem recipes, which were filmed by Manna Food Center and streamed all week to show the community how to cook delicious recipes with items that most would throw away, like the skins of sweet potatoes and the tops of carrots. STEP is a not-for-profit union-employer training fund that provides free technical skills and life skills classes to hospitality workers in the DMV. Working closely with UNITE HERE Local 23 and partner employers, STEP’s mission is to support the creation of good, sustainable jobs in the food service sector while contributing to excellence in the industry. STEP’s membership is very diverse, composed primarily of immigrants and people of color.

Check out these short videos for great tips and recipes you can use at home!

Beet Greens Salad

Carrot Top Pesto Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Purslane and Tender Cactus Salad

Vegetable Stock

About Food Waste Prevention Week in the DMV’s Co-Hosts

Community Food Rescue, a program of Manna Food Center, is the coordinated food recovery network of Montgomery County, Maryland. This program partners with businesses, individuals, and organizations to recover and redistribute perfectly good food to people experiencing hunger.

The DC Food Recovery Working Group comprises a variety of partners from food banks, non-profits, and for-profits working on food recovery, DC government agencies, local environmental and sustainability organizations, and food recovery advocates. The Working Group promotes food recovery programs, organizations, and resources, and develops new food recovery partnerships, programs, and resources for greater DC.

The Montgomery County Food Council serves as the primary connection point for businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and residents around food system issues in our County. The Council brings together over 2,000 local and regional partners in community-wide education, advocacy, and capacity building initiatives in support of an equitable and resilient food system that is healthy for our community, economy, and environment.  

 

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