Fighting food waste with a free meal

You could, in fact, get a free lunch if you were in the Pit on the afternoon of Sept. 29, as Carolina Dining Services hosted another round of Feeding the 5,000.

The event was a success last October, and a smaller scale Feeding the 500 event went over well with students in the Spring. This week, it was back in full force with 6,850 people fed and another 800 meal servings donated to the Inter-Faith Council. In total, CDS exceeded the goal of feeding 5,000 people by making meals for 7,650 individuals.

The event spilled over into the Top of Lenoir dining hall, where students were served the same dishes and the message of food waste was spelled out on banners: Of all food produced globally, 33 percent is wasted. In the United States, that number is closer to 50 percent.

“It’s shocking how many people could be fed by all the food that is thrown away,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt, who stopped by the event.

UNC-Chapel Hill was the first university in the United States to host this international campaign, originally launched in 2009 by Tristram Stuart. The English author and campaigner entrenched in the fight against global food waste.

“This time, we’re highlighting the ‘Food For All’ pan-university theme,” said Carolina’s Director for Food and Vending, Scott Myers. “It’s food that would otherwise have been wasted in the fields or used as some kind of byproduct.”

Students lined up on a gray day for portions of vegetable curry, seafood stew, a pork Brunswick stew, and a few mixed fruit cobblers.

“I got the pork Brunswick stew and it’s really good,” sophomore Lawrence Bacudio said in between bites. “So many people go hungry, especially in developing countries and I think this is a great way to raise awareness about food waste,

Holding a bowl of warm peach cobbler, second-year graduate student Allen Lum reflected on the purpose of the event.

“I think it’s important to raise awareness about not wasting food, and I think UNC’s doing a good job pioneering that.”