Food Matters

Reducing food waste and promoting sustainable local food will help meet waste diversion and greenhouse gas emissions goals, while also helping to reduce food poverty and support healthy local food systems.

Up to 40% of the food in the United States is never eaten, and at the same time, one in eight Americans struggles to put enough food on the table (NRDC Food Matters). An estimated 20-30% of all municipal solid waste generated in Durango is organic material that could be recovered or composted.

Reduce

  • Save The Food Guest-imator can help you estimate how much food you really need to keep your family and your guests happy and healthy. Save The Food also has great tips for meal planning, food storage and other ways to avoid wasting food.

Food Donation and Rescue

  • Manna Soup Kitchen offers food access, volunteer opportunities, and other resources.
  • Durango Food Bank accepts food donations.
  • Good Food Collective works on food security, food justice and our regional food economy. They offer community support programs, volunteer opportunities, and an online community gleaning platform connects fruit tree owners looking for people to harvest and use their fruit, with community members and volunteer groups looking to harvest for donation to food banks and pantries.
  • Consider feeding food scraps to your animals, or asking around to see if anyone else has hungry animals who would gobble them up.

Compost

  • The City of Durango Compost page outlines information for composting at home and signing up for curbside composting service. Composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions created when food breaks down in landfill and creates a valuable soil amendment for gardeners and farmers.

Community Farms and Gardening

NRDC Food Hierarchy
NRDC Wasted Infographic