Non-profit educational community in Detroit to combat food waste

DETROIT (TBEN DETROIT) – We’ve heard of “farm to table,” but what about “waste to table”?

At some point, the ingredients of Detroit’s Upcycling Kitchen at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church may have ended up in the trash.

Instead, Chef Shanel DeWalt and volunteers turn food waste into free nutritious meals for the community.

“You wouldn’t have thought if you just looked at the meal like ‘oh my god, this food was saved,’” DeWalt said.

The donations of food surpluses come from farms, restaurants and supermarkets everywhere

“We’re going to get it and we’re washing it off real good and there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just not in the original packaging,” DeWalt said.

The kitchen is the creation of ‘Make Food, Not Waste’, a non-profit organization that keeps food from ending up in landfills.

“We’re seeing more and more that people care, especially with food prices going up. So when you pay more for food, it’s a lot harder to throw it away,” Danielle Todd, executive director of Make Food Not Waste said. .

According to Todd, as a country we throw away about 40% of what we grow. In Michigan, about two billion pounds of food ends up in landfills each year.

So on Thursday, Make Food Not Waste hosted a special dinner at the Pizzaplex on Detroit’s west side to show the community how to give food a second chance.

There are simple ways people can avoid food waste.

“Your freezer is a great tool if you make too much. You can save it for later, reheat it another time when you don’t feel like cooking and it really doesn’t go to waste,” Todd said. “But it’s really a matter of being honest, being honest with yourself, seeing what your week looks like and preparing for it,” Todd said.