Closing in on Zero-Waste Goals with Sustainable Food Prep

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April 26, 2019

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that, in the United States, more food reaches landfills and combustion facilities than any other single material in everyday trash. Reducing food waste would not only save space in overflowing landfills, but the EPA reports it would also help address climate change by reducing methane emissions.

At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Nutrition Services is drastically reducing food waste in landfills by diverting hundreds of tons of unused food through recycling and repurposing.

The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center has been a longtime partner of the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and its Second Servings program. Ready-to-serve food, unused by the hospital, heads to Second Servings for soup kitchens and emergency shelters.

“We donate about 40,000 pounds of food each year, mostly from the main medical center campus,” says Mike Folino, associate director of Nutrition Services. “In earlier years, we donated more, but we’re constantly learning to adjust our production to create less leftover food in the first place.”

Medical center chefs and clinicians also show some pantry recipients how to cook that food, through the James Mobile Education Kitchen. The team travels to underserved areas to distribute food samples and hold cooking and nutrition demonstrations.

With a goal of becoming “zero waste” by 2025, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is steadily adding initiatives to evolve into a more sustainable, environmentally friendly organization.