Local Food Waste Warriors Band Together
You couldn’t have ordered a more perfect afternoon to sip on a Bloody Mary out back of Owen’s Fish Camp than Sunday, December 3. But the crowd assembled wasn’t there to shoot the breeze.
They’d spent the past hour at the Sarasota premiere of Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, where they were introduced to people and businesses that convert food waste into a valuable resource for feeding the homeless, raising the world’s most-prized pork, powering factories, and giving back to the planet with life-sustaining compost. Now our group of restaurateurs, growers, fishers, foodies, environmentalists, and community-builders was eager to tackle the problem of food waste in their own backyard.
Moderated by Owen’s proprietor Mark Caragiulo, a panel of local sustainability leaders fielded earnest questions from the audience. In the background, light bites prepared by local chefs were dished up on biodegradable plates, and the theme of the day prevailed in ingredients conscientiously kept out of the trash: grilled grouper collar, Parmesan rinds for mushroom gnudi broth, pickled vegetable scraps as Bloody Mary garnish.
Chef Steve Phelps helped organize the screening and community forum with an understanding that this would be step one down a long, challenging road toward food waste reduction in the city. It’s possible he didn’t expect that, by the end of the day, he’d meet the very people with the resources, experience, and drive to pilot his vision for a composting program at his restaurant, Indigenous, and others in the downtown core. But that’s precisely the kind of thing that can happen when you raise an army of food waste warriors. Edible Sarasota is excited to be on the front lines, and we look forward to reporting more from the ongoing crusade!
Edible Sarasota wants YOU for Sarasota’s Food Waste Warriors.
Follow @foodwastewarriorssarasota on Facebook to join the movement and be the change.
