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    Beginner Lessons

    The Beginner Lessons form the foundation with a sound overview of the core concepts of food production.

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    What is a Food Desert?

    Gain insight into food deserts, the communities they impact, and how edible education may offer a solution.

    The Difference Between Rainwater and Tap Water

    Not all water is created equal especially when we're talking about the health and development of plants and people.

    Why Rain is Important

    Rain or the lack of an adequate supply can have profound effects on farming and the communities that rely on the harvest.

    Anatomy of a Seed

    It all begins with a seed and this article dives deep into the 5 primary parts of the seed that make it all possible.

Farm to Table…To Landfill?

Apr 15 by Tim Miner Leave a Comment

Food waste for USI get an average of three visits a day in the Edible Learning Lab.  It’s usually a parent that wants to see what their kids have been doing in the afterschool program, a local member of the community that was intrigued by a recent article about the Lab, or a supporter of our program that has friends visiting and they just can’t help but show off the Edible Learning Lab.  All of the visitors I get are welcome and I truly enjoy the exchange.

But I often highlight that our Lab aims to minimize if not completely eliminate the waste in the process, particularly our food waste.  We are doing well at this early stage but there is always some way to improve our efforts.

Here are a few of the things we are currently doing to eliminate waste in the cycle of our process:

  • All waste paper in the office is shredded and used for bedding in the Worm Factory 360 vermiculture setup
  • All organic waste from the Lab and the daily snacks is composted to recapture the nutrients so they can be used in the raised planters
  • We even pickup the coffee grounds from the local coffee shop for our composting operation in addition to bag of leaves in the fall

In the near future, we will have our rain harvesting system online to capture the rainfall from our roof system.  We plan to use fish in an aquaponics system to capture their waste and convert it to a nutritional source for the hydroponics systems.

But as a community, and as a country, we still manage to waste nearly half of the food we produce and with very dire consequences.  The system is flawed, inefficient, and in desperate need of a substantial overhaul.

This article from the NRDC just might overwhelm you with a reality that you never knew existed.  Please share this with everyone you can.

Filed Under: Teach the Teacher Tagged With: food waste

About Tim Miner

Tim Miner is the co-founder Modern Steader and father to two young boys that spend as much time in the kitchen and garden as he does. Tim and his family live in Buffalo, WY where he created the flagship Edible Learning Lab at the local Boys & Girls Club.

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