Food Waste: How the SCC Plans to Combat a Growing Problem

Photo from Jimmy Dean on Unsplash

October 13, 2023

Lucky Mourredes, Contributing Writer

The Sustainable Campus Coalition (SCC) is an organization on the University of Maine Farmington (UMF) campus that promotes environmental awareness through its various events, projects, and student-run co-op.

According to FeedingAmerica.org, “Each year, 119 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States.” With a growing population correlating to more mouths to feed, this problem is becoming more prevalent across the country. This academic year, the SCC plans to incorporate events and initiate projects that aim to assist in tackling the massive issue of food waste in the United States. The group’s efforts are aimed at educating the UMF population in hopes of creating a more sustainable campus that actively combats food waste. 

“Composting food waste is a great thing to do, it's better than watching organic waste go to a landfill when it could be used to feed people or animals,” said Mark Pires, the Campus Sustainability Coordinator.

This semester, students should look forward to food awareness activities that the SCC plans to hold. One idea that Pires envisions is a tabling event where students can learn about food waste and ways to reduce it. Additionally, he suggested that the SCC’s composting team may become involved by providing a waste bucket to encourage students and faculty to be mindful of their food waste. 

“Just generally, throughout the state of Maine and the country, 40% of food that is produced and sold in the United States goes to waste,” Pires said.

Alongside campus events, the SCC is working on a pilot project aimed to reduce the amount of waste produced by the dining hall. In collaboration with Sodexo, the SCC aims to implement a food security cooler that would be located in the Thrifty Beaver. Sodexo would package extra food that the SCC would transport to the food security cooler. From there, students would be able to access this food during the Thrifty Beaver’s operation hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

“We would try to get that food in the hands of people who can use it and need it. It would be a nice attempt to reduce [food] waste before it ends up going to compost,” Pires said.

The SCC holds meetings every Monday at 12:30 p.m. in room 113 of the education center. Any interested students are welcome to attend.