HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.05.15_Mayor_EPA_Encourage_Sustainable_Food_ManagementCITY OF SOUTH BEND
PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR
Office of the Mayor
CONTACT:
Kara Kelly, (574) 235 -5853
kkelly @southbendin.gov
FOR RELEASE: Thursday, November 5, 2015
BUTTIGIEG JOINS EPA ADMINISTRATOR TO HIGHLIGHT SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANAGEMENT
Mayor Pete Buttigieg and EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman discussed sustainable
food management and the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge with local restaurateurs. The
program is a pledge businesses and organizations can take to prevent and divert wasted food.
"There is a need within our community, where many residents are hungry on a daily basis while
tons of wasted food gets dumped into our landfills," Mayor Buttigieg says. "EPA's challenge
brings attention to potential solutions to this problem and encourages sustainable food production
and consumption practices."
South Bend restaurants Brew Werks and LaSalle Grill, food cooperative Purple Porch, and Ivy
Tech Community College North Central Hospitality Administration program are taking steps to
prevent unnecessary food loss, while the Food Bank of Northern Indiana and YWCA North
Central Indiana have programs to put excess food safely into the hands of the hungry.
One in five children in Indiana suffers from food insecurity, and an estimated third of all food
produced becomes disposed waste, generating both economic and environmental losses.
"Area businesses are trying out programs from smart inventory tracking to composting to
donation of surplus food," says Therese Dorau, South Bend's sustainability director. "Working
together, we can reduce food loss and waste in order to improve overall food security and
conserve natural resources."
The EPA offers resources for sustainable food management at www2.epa.gov/sustainable-
management -food.