BY MATT LINDSEY
North Country This Week

POTSDAM – More than 100 people turned for the Food Waste Expo at Potsdam Central to learn about the importance of not wasting food.

The event is important because 40% of food produced in the United States is never eaten and 30% worldwide, according to Rebecca Munn, PCS science teacher.

“So this event was to educate and raise awareness about other more environmentally friendly options and to communicate the need for a community-wide program to reduce food waste,” said Munn, who helped organize the event.

She said there is waste all along the production line from the farm all the way to the kitchen table.

“When we waste food, we waste energy, resources and the ability to put food in the mouths of the hungry,” she said. “Not only that but when food is thrown away in the garbage it ends up in the landfill where it decomposes and produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.”

She said that educating the community and students about how to reduce food waste opens up conversation about how to be part of the solution.

Munn said there are many ways we can help with food waste, which includes source reduction, feeding hungry people and animals, making energy and composting to name a few.

Munn added that DEC will also be enforcing a law coming in January for large food waste generators such as college universities, large restaurants and grocery stores that states food may no longer go to the landfill, Munn said.

At the event, Visitors had the opportunity to browse through a variety of interactive exhibits by students, community volunteers, and organizations such as the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge, Wild Center, Nicandri Nature Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the North Country Children’s Museum, Big Spoon Kitchen, Foster the Plant, and GardenShare. There was also Food Waste Bingo and a photo booth.

The event was sponsored by a partnership between Clarkson University and the Village/Town of Potsdam Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Task Force. Funding was provided by the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute through a grant from the Environmental Fund as administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.