By Natalie French | Reporter
When students leave for Thanksgiving break, they clean out their fridges and pantries to start fresh after it’s over, ensuring the food doesn’t spoil. However, according to the USDA, between 30% and 40% of food in the United States goes uneaten. According to the National Resource Defense Council, 22 million pounds of food on college campuses goes to waste.
Instead of throwing out unopened food and contributing to these statistics, students at Baylor have a few options.
Andrea Valdez, Baylor Community Garden and urban agriculture outreach program manager, said students should take advantage of composting at the Baylor Community Garden for produce-based food waste.
“By dropping off food scraps at our composting bins, you’re helping us turn waste into rich compost that nourishes our garden and community,” Valdez said.
Valdez encourages students to donate nonperishables to The Store because, according to Student Opportunity and Achievement Resources, “donations of food empower The Store to generously support more and more Baylor students.”
Tre Baldwin, assistant director of SOAR, oversees The Store. He said it is always grateful for donations.
Baldwin said The Store’s most needed items are canned goods, microwaveable meals and other nonperishables that are quick and easy for students to grab.
“Every donation makes a difference and helps us provide essential items to those who rely on our store,” Baldwin said. “We want to make it as easy as possible for community members to give and deeply appreciate the generosity and support we receive.”
Valdez said that Urban REAP has a blue bucket compost program that accepts protein-based compostable items like meats and dairy products. Urban REAP is an outreach ministry working under Mission Waco. According to its website, it “exists to create a more sustainable future by providing our community with positive actions that help care for our creation as well as our neighbors.”
Dr. Joshua King, English professor and director of the environmental humanities minor, said that 25% of Waco’s landfills is food waste, which contributes to greenhouse gas pollution. Waco also has communities facing some of the highest food insecurity in the state and nation, according to Dr. King.
“If global food waste were a nation, it would be the third worst contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, behind only the U.S. and China,” King said.
New Hope, Minn., senior Cora Roehm recently got a compost bucket from the Baylor Community Garden to do her part to mitigate food waste and said she is passionate about fighting food insecurity.
“When food can be rerouted to those who are hungry, it plays a big part in reducing food insecurity in college students,” Roehm said.
