Theme: Hiding in Plain Sight
Check out our 2020 Food Waste Photo Contest entries and learn how food waste can be hiding in plain sight all around us.
Shivani Badiger (1st place)
Did you know? Perfect looking baby carrots are carved out of misshapen bigger carrots that people are less likely to buy. To me, baby carrots are a symbol of our incredibly wasteful food system and our obsession with perfection. All the wasted parts of perfectly good edible carrots are #HidingInPlainSight behind these baby carrots
Abigail A. Sommer (2nd place)
Did you know you can eat citrus peels? The peels can be boiled in syrup and coated in sugar to candy them. This delicious candy is #HidingInPlainSight ! (Bonus: use the syrup after for lemonade or other drinks.)
Olivia Severyn (3rd place)
Trash to Table Making hearty chili from salvaged ingredients. Blemished tomatoes were diced up and thrown in the pot. Kale, which wilted a couple of weeks ago, was thrown in the freezer until I would be able to use it. Beans that just expired are great to add.
Allison Howell (Honorable mention)
Often, the only solution considered for preventing food waste is consumption. This year, my Christmas tree is decorated with dehydrated orange ornaments and a garland made from stale popcorn and leftover cranberries. I try to be creative in finding ways to reduce my food waste footprint, and my decorations this year give me a chance to appreciate the value of food in a new way while also reminding me to be conscious of my food waste footprint this holiday season.
Elena Kellow (Honorable mention)
Food waste is not egg-cellent. It is estimated that about 5 billion eggs are thrown away each year- that’s enough eggs to make an omelet the size of Manhattan! Eggs may feel easy to discard because they are cheap to buy, but they have many valuable hidden qualities! Eggs are rich in protein and disease-fighting nutrients. Make sure you aren’t cracking under the pressure to eat all your eggs, use them up instead of wasting them!
Cynthia Groves
When I considered the idea of documenting food waste, I started with one question: Where could I capture large amounts of food waste? During my time working in restaurants, I have noticed that many over-stock food to contribute to style and atmosphere but are eventually thrown away. I discovered that most display cases are rotated out weekly. This food could have been used for meals or given back to the community. While some laws may prohibit donating old food, changes could be made to decrease food waste. Instead, restaurants are spending a lot of money just to throw it away. In my opinion, this intentional waste of food can be prevented by restaurants.
Brianda Daniela Gonzalez Orozco
#knowfoodwaste #twobananasless Certainly, when you go to the grocery store you never think that in a few weeks or even days you will be throwing away the food you are buying. However, this happens so frequently that we tend to normalize it. We do not stop for a minute and think all that lies behind these two bananas thrown away for being overripe. The carbon footprint, water usage, land usage, human labor, etc. Next time you decide to throw away your food, think a little bit about all the things that lie behind this.
Tania Aho
“I’m done!” When a student doesn’t eat everything they bought/packed, they toss it. When every kid throws away part of their lunch, it adds up. According to a 2019 study by the WWF, U.S. school food waste totals an estimated 530,000 tons per year.
Shivani Badiger
How often do we reach for the perfect looking tomato at the grocery store? When we do this, the slightly bruised ones, #HidingInPlainSight are always left behind contributing to #foodwaste. You can choose to buy them and save them from ending up in the landfill. It’s what’s on the inside that matters!
Juliana Discher
A common problem for college students like me looking to eat healthy is having perishable goods spoil before it can be eaten. I resolve this by keeping an “Eat First” bin in my kitchen so I prioritize eating items that are closer to expiring. Next, think whether they’re actually expired or if you can use the food differently. Why not turn that stale bread into croutons? Or fix your crystallized honey with some hot water over the jar? Be proactive when you can and always think twice before you send your food to the landfill.
Shivani Badiger
Unused heads of green onions can regrow leaves with just a couple inches of water. So called “wasted” food scraps #HidingInPlainSight in my fried rice! Grow your own scallions instead of buying them at the grocery store. They even stay fresh longer in water rather than wilting away in your fridge.
Simone Fishel
1 of 46 million turkeys devoured this Thanksgiving, but what’s leftover contributes to 200 million pounds of turkey waste post-holiday. The wishbone isn’t the only usable remain (make a wish!) – these leftovers can be used to make turkey broth or stock…hello soup season!
Hunter Mastin
This Pie pumpkin may look plain. However, it is a pie in disguise! Functional fixedness says that this pumpkin can only amount to being carved, or used as a table piece decoration. I am here to tell you that this Pie pumpkin shall soon be a pie. #knowfoodwaste #nofoodwaste #HidingInPlainSight
Sarah Walsh
Among all the negative consequences of the pandemic, never would you think that one of them would be unexpected food waste. After contracting the virus, I have been receiving a huge amount of food from University Dining Services and my refrigerator couldn’t keep up. I had to throw away 80-90% of the food, unable to giveaway the food. There’s no other option but to dispose the leftovers (even unopened) that could have potentially been contaminated by me. And this is just one way that food waste can easily be #HiddenInPlainSight among the grips of a pandemic and a very generous university.
Shivani Badiger
In our busy lifestyles, we often overlook the little bits of food we waste. They quickly add up to the 1.3 billion pounds wasted every year. What we see are the endless problems in our own lives, but the issue of #foodwaste is #HidingInPlainSight in this trash can, indirectly changing our lives as well
Genevieve Wagner
For countless people around the world, food waste is part of their morning routine. To make a mug of morning buzz, a handful of coffee grounds goes to waste. The dark, coarse, and aromatic coffee grounds we drench in hot water, get tossed after a hot pot of coffee has finished percolating. Every day, coffee drinkers create this small amount of food waste, #HiddenInPlainSight. Instead of wasting the coffee grounds, why not harness their potential through sustainable means? By adding your daily dose of coffee grounds to a compost pile, you can take a daily step in reducing your food waste.
Victoria Piper
You, the average college student, produce 142lbs of food waste per year. I get it, sometimes it’s necessary; you forgot about that jar in the pantry. With 40% of food in the US going uneaten, food management can reduce what’s hidden in your trash.
Izabelle Vose
With smaller gatherings for the holidays this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is more food leftover from traditionally large meals. In my family, we usually divide the leftovers between everyone to make sure none is wasted. This year, I had to cook a meal for only two people, which can be pretty difficult and resulted in a lot of leftovers and no one to share with. Unexpected leftovers can lead to food waste that is #HidingInPlainSight. Try to find creative ways to reuse your holiday leftovers this year! #knowfoodwaste
Ziqi Li
I am a Chinese PhD student and I am in Cambodia now to apply my F-1 visa. Cambodia remains one of the poorest countries in Asia while I STILL observe food waste in their restaurant. This is a picture I took in a buffet restaurant located in AEON. Hope more customers no longer waster their food in plant.