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Feds Spend $25,000 Teaching Churches About Food Waste

Campaign tells adults how to write a shopping list

AP
November 6, 2015

The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $25,000 to teach churchgoers in Connecticut about food waste.

The agency announced over $1.7 million awarded through its Healthy Communities Grant Program on Thursday, including $50,000 for its "Food Too Good to Waste" initiative that seeks to curb climate change by teaching adults how to write a grocery list.

Sustainable America, a nonprofit group that wants people to turn off their engines instead of idling and buy hybrid cars, was given $25,000 to bring the program to churches.

"This initiative will recruit households from faith-based congregations in the Greater Bridgeport and Stamford areas to implement a Food Too Good to Waste (FTGTW) challenge," the announcement said.

"The FTGTW Toolkit will be modified for the target audience and Sustainable America will host meetings for leadership from participating congregations, implementing a six-week challenge and instructing them how to bring the challenge back to their congregations," the EPA said. "The goal of the project is to raise awareness about food waste, reduce household level food waste, and ultimately reduce the amount of food waste that is incinerated or landfilled."

The initiative’s toolkit includes instructions on how to make a shopping list, and signs you can put in your refrigerator telling you what foods to eat.

"Eat what you buy," one of the campaign’s tips reads. "Be mindful of old ingredients and leftovers you need to use up. Move food that’s likely to spoil soon to the front of a shelf or designated ‘eat now’ area."