Communities working to prevent food waste

(WFSB) – Ever thought about how much food you waste?

According to the USDA, about one-third of all food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten each year.

And food waste not only means more greenhouse gas emissions, but also means you’re wasting money.

Communities on both the east and west coast are working to turn that around.

“When you think about the amount of resources that it takes to produce this food and then to not have it become nutrients that that is so wasteful,” says Roman Pinal, Organizing Director at United Farm Workers.

Instead of wasting away, all the produce from farms around California goes back to those in need.

Pinal says they feed hundreds of families in their community.

“I think it’s hunger, preventing food waste and bringing some healthy food to farmworker families.”

On the east coast, one county in Virginia wants to make composting as easy as taking out the trash.

It’s the first state to offer residential curbside composting pick-up.

Erik Grabowsky leads the Solid Waste Bureau in Arlington County.

“So, it’s our version of a topsoil product and you can see how rich it looks.”

He says nearly 80% of households are participating, and the program isn’t even a year old.

“I think that’s fabulous, It’s not 100%, but it’s very good.”

So far, he says the program diverts about 20% of food scraps that would otherwise end up as garbage.

But it’s not always so easy to get people on board.

“There’s a yuck factor associated with managing food scraps in your house.”

But once you figure it out, you start to see scrap or spoiled food as, not a waste, but an opportunity.

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