If Food Waste Is So Important, Why Don’t We Hear More About It?
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A Night That Changed Me
At the recent New Haven Night Market, I set up an educational display to show people the journey food scraps take—from plate to compost. I brought a jar filled with real food waste collected from friends: old bread, blueberries, peppers, cherries, rice, even a breakfast sandwich and a beef patty.
I thought it would spark curiosity. And it did—just not in the way I expected.
A man walked up, pointed at the jar, and asked:
“Is this edible?”
At first, I thought he was joking. But he wasn’t. He told me he was homeless and that the scraps looked good enough to eat.
I was speechless.
What Counts as Waste?
That jar represented what we often consider “garbage”—but it was all food someone could have eaten. Most of it had just been sitting in fridges a little too long.
This encounter shook me.
Out of the many visitors to my booth that night, only four had heard of food waste diversion. Just three practiced it.
The rest had no idea what it was.
How is something so urgent… so unknown?
Why This Matters to Me
Wasting food has always bothered me.
As a child, my brother and I occasionally visited the local soup kitchen—not out of desperation, but because we wanted to. We didn’t have much, but my mom always made sure we had food, even if she had to walk to a food pantry to get it.
At the soup kitchen, we’d get things we couldn’t afford—like donuts donated from the Dunkin’ next door. But even then, I remember feeling sadness seeing how many people truly relied on that meal.
That was 30 years ago. And not much has changed.
In fact, sometimes it feels worse.
A Slice of Reality
Once, I saw a man and a woman—clearly hungry—pick up a half-eaten slice of pizza from the ground and take turns eating it.
It broke my heart. I teared up right there on the sidewalk.
How can this still be happening?
How is this reality in the land of the free and the home of the brave?
What You Can Do
We throw away tons of food in this country. Meanwhile, millions of people go hungry every day.
But there’s hope—and it starts with awareness.
At EcoGreen Pathways, we’re not just teaching people how to compost. We’re starting conversations about food, waste, equity, and change.
We believe that by equipping people with the right knowledge, tools, and resources, we can transform the way we think about what’s “trash.”
Because sometimes, what we throw away could be someone else’s next meal—or, at the very least, fuel for a greener future.
Ready to Join the Movement?
✅ Learn how to start food scrapping and composting
✅ Shop our planet-friendly tools
✅ Book a workshop for your school, business, or block
✅ Stay connected with our mission
🌱 Visit EcoGreenPathways.com
🌱 Follow us on Instagram: @EcoGreenPathways
Together, we can waste less—and care more.