A Local Pilot Program Shows How Repurposed Food Can Help The Needy
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Drexel University is attempting to spread an innovative food recovery program to all parts of the nation.
Today, in the kitchen of Drexel's food lab, a small crowd gathered around culinary student Alli Zeitz as she described a display of items she concocted from aging fruit that was otherwise targeted for the dumpster.
The recipes are posted on the university's web site and, right now, a local homeless shelter ("My Brother's House") is using them.
But the federal Environmental Protection Agency is hoping the program will catch on nationally. EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, on hand for today's demonstration and tasting, noted that the US throws away 30 percent of its food each year.
"Just because this might not look pretty, it actually is useful. It is still available, it is still respectful, and can be transformed into these beautiful delicacies in a way that respects the people we're trying to serve," she said today.
The food was donated by a Brown's Shoprite supermarket in West Philadelphia, a partner in the pilot program. Staffers at My Brother's House have compiled a cookbook and are cooking the items with help from residents.