Green Oceanside and San Diego Food System Alliance Help Residents Maximize Weekly Groceries While Minimizing Food Waste

Oceanside CA— Within San Diego County, 500,000 tons of food end up in the landfill every year, while one pound of food creates the same emissions as 20% of the energy used daily in an average household. This waste of edible food represents loss of water, energy, and labor resources used to grow and transport this needed food. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 Oceanside residents, and as many as 1 in 2 Oceanside students, don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Many families are facing hunger for the first time as they navigate a global pandemic and COVID-19 shutdowns. With many families already facing food insecurity, and many more being affected due to the global pandemic, the Green Oceanside team is providing tools and resources on maximizing food to last for the overall health and sustainability of the community.
The City of Oceanside’s Green Oceanside team is bringing awareness to Hunger Action Month with the “Waste Less, Enjoy More” residential workshop on September 30, 2020 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. This virtual workshop is presented in partnership with The City of Oceanside and San Diego Food System Alliance to provide residents strategies for shopping smarter, tricks to storing produce and extending pantry life, and zero waste cooking tips to use food before it spoils. The City invites all Oceanside residents, no matter their weekly grocery budget or source of food, to participate and learn how to feed their families, not their trash cans!
To promote this workshop to a diverse group of community members, the City is working with two local high-volume food pantry sites in Oceanside and has developed resources and materials to directly distribute to 300 local food box recipients. These materials include recipe cards, a helpful reference sheet on decoding date labels, and a fridge magnet to remind households how best to store produce.
“Providing tools and tips for zero waste in the kitchen to all Oceanside residents is critical to the success of feeding our communities, not landfills” states Colleen Foster, the City of Oceanside’s Environmental Officer. “By directly engaging with residents through food box distribution points, and by offering a virtual workshop that anyone can attend as they start thinking about dinner, ensures that everyone has access to education and resources, during and beyond Hunger Action Month”.
Participants can register to attend this virtual workshop by visiting the following link: https://bit.ly/2FQcuc4, or calling into the workshop on September 30 through the following number: +1-669-900-6833 with Webinar Code ID: 865 3225 0601.
The recorded workshop and mentioned resources will be available at www.greenoceanside.org following the event.