The Grow is good for reducing food waste.
Forty percent of all food is wasted.
More water is used to produce food that is thrown away than the amount of water used by any single country.
Food waste is the second largest source of municipal solid waste in landfills.
Perhaps this is, in part, a function of misplaced value by the consumer.
How many times have you seen advertising for all-you-can-eat buffets or restaurants that challenge the customer to eat a 50-ounce porterhouse steak?
It’s as if these restaurants believe that offering diners more than they should eat somehow builds value in their product. The last thing restaurants with this mindset want is the perception of their sized portions to be smaller than the competition. After all, more is always better right? Bigger is always better, right?
No, not always.
Let’s, for now, set aside the health implications of eating over-sized portions.
Let’s instead focus on the food that is grown, harvested, packaged, shipped, received, prepared, served, and left behind unconsumed on the plates. What happens to the food left over when diners are unable to finish the meal?
That food gets tossed in the garbage can, then collected by garbage trucks and driven miles across town to end up in a landfill. The plants and animals that have given their lives with the intent to nourish another have made the ultimate sacrifice for what? A marketing ploy?
What if we, the consumers, had a deeper connection with the plants and animals that ultimately end up on our dinner plates?
Understanding and appreciation lead to respect and admiration.
Let’s offer the consumer an opportunity to understand the sacrifices involved in the production of food and foster their appreciation for the commitment and devotion of those working in the food industry.
With this understanding comes respect for food and admiration for those producing it.
Farming is hard work. Ask a farmer.
What if a generation of children grows up with a strong connection to the land on which their food is grown and with the people who work that land?
The Grow, with its 9-acre working farm, 21 acres of community gardens and onsite agriculturists, will create an environment for these connections to develop.
