Eco-EduTainment

Preventing Wasted Food is a National Thing!

March 16, 2023 // by K'Rene (Karen) Kos

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Since 2018, we here at No Food Left Behind-Corvallis have been bringing you information and resources, which we hope have been enlightening & motivational, about the systemic, global problem of wasted food. Five years later, we’re happy to be a partner — for the second consecutive year — of National Food Waste Prevention Week, April 10th-16th, 2023.

There’ll be loads of resources and connections from all over the country, social media engagement on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, tips for wasting less at home, events, an art contest for K-12 students, webinars, and fun game show-style quizzes. There will also be more Spanish-language resources and materials! Keep checking back at their website for updates and happenings.

The goal of National Food Waste Prevention Week is “to educate and inspire real cultural change around food waste… to help families save money, reduce the negative impact of food waste on the environment, and address hunger in our communities.” Pretty ambitious — but the good news is there are hundreds of partners from every part of the country, representing every sector of the food system, signing on. Hooray! Preventing Wasted Food is a National Thing!

Oregon is one of the top three states with 38 participating agencies and organizations so far, thanks to our colleagues at the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Materials Management division, which is a principal organizing partner for this national event. DEQ also lends its unique “Bad Apple” campaign characters (like the broccoli figure) to the national effort. Maybe you’ve picked up one of these stickers at our Farmers’ Market table!

We would be remiss if we neglected to mention the fact that DEQ grant funding jump-started NFLB five years ago. We are proud to be one of DEQ’s partners in its statewide campaign to reduce wasted food.

How You Can Participate in National Food Waste Prevention Week:

TAKE THE PLEDGE to use good habits to reduce food waste at home and work, be accountable, and share your knowledge with others! Then post your commitment on social media (if you so choose).
TAKE A QUIZ: Are you as savvy as a 5th Grader? Daily fun facts and tips. (Maybe you ARE a fifth grader!)
Encourage your child to enter the STUDENT ART CONTEST. This year’s theme: “How Does Reducing Our Food Waste Protect Our Planet?” Check out last year’s winners!
Learn something or make a new connection in a WEBINAR. The offerings range from general interest to geeky. Many will be state- or regionally-specific.
FOLLOW National Food Waste Prevention Week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for fun facts and tips before, during and after the week!
TRACK YOUR FOOD HABITS FOR A WEEK using NFLB’s “Wasted Food Discovery Week” form (also available in Spanish). Browse our Recipes for Leftovers, or download one or more of our other Smart Strategies to help you change those behaviors and save money!
SEE FUN EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS in English and Spanish from NFLB’s own “Magic Mama” Kjersten Hallin. This spring, Kjersten will once again be presenting these, along with movement, music and curriculum-enhancing activities in Corvallis schools. Contact us to request a visit to your child’s classroom!

EVERY WEEK CAN BE WASTED FOOD PREVENTION WEEK!

Many of you, during our regular encounters at the Corvallis Farmers’ Markets, have mentioned your concerns about the entire spectrum of food waste, from unharvested produce at field and farm, to the full dumpsters behind a big box grocer or retailer, to the garbage receptacles at restaurants, in school lunchrooms, at sporting events and festivals.

We’re happy to report that the problem is now being addressed in nearly every state and in many municipalities, through governmental programs and public-private partnerships across all sectors of our food systems. Sophisticated, data-driven initiatives from non-profit and non-governmental research organizations like ReFED, Project Drawdown, and the NRDC have created resources and conceptual groundwork for systemic change by 2030.

But it still comes down to each one of us, in our own households, to make the biggest difference. It’s now well established that most food waste happens IN THE HOME, and that reducing food waste is the #1 personal action we can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions driving the global climate crisis.

National Food Waste Prevention Week happens each April, just like Earth Day. Shouldn’t EVERY DAY be Earth Day? Let’s make EVERY WEEK Food Waste Prevention Week!

Congratulations, Conscientious Food Consumers (and everyone who’s working on it). You are part of a nationwide, even international, movement!

Magic Mama’s Waste-Less Message

December 15, 2022 // by K'Rene (Karen) Kos

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Did you miss us? Since our last Kitchen Confessions, we've been keeping busy at our local Farmers' Markets and bringing our Eco-Edutainment videos into wider circulation. In November, we held our first public event in years, "Food: Too Good To Waste!" -- a family-friendly, active-learning presentation of those videos, along with educational resource tables, prize drawings and local, fresh veggie/fruit Tasting Tables, at the Corvallis Community Center.

It was the first public presentation of the videos -- three short but information-packed episodes (in Spanish & English) -- created, directed and produced by NFLB Educational Specialist Kjersten "Magic Mama" Hallin during the first two years of the pandemic.

We announced them last year in "Kitchen Confessions," and during the summer of 2022, the finished work received some nice publicity in our local paper.

Magic Mama's Waste-Less Message is delivered in the videos with catchy songs, rhythmic beats, animated sequences and easy-to-remember takeaways, interspersed with fun explorations of such important concepts as the carbon footprint or "foodprint" of your diet. We visit a local organic farm, meet some of the people who work there and learn some new connections about the resources involved in food production, "from seed to plate."

Local kid actors in many of the scenes help to make Magic Mama's message more relevant for younger viewers. And while kids of all ages -- as well as adults -- can benefit from viewing the videos, the material was developed to help meet school curriculum standards for grades 4-6.

Sing Along with Magic Mama! "Don't throw it away! ... Food Too Good To Waste!"

At our video premiere event, we had a lot of fun engaging our all-ages audience in singing, moving, snacking and learning new ways of relating to the food we eat -- and possibly waste -- every day. This included a couple who drove up from Springfield for something different to do on pre-Thanksgiving weekend!

Here's some of the great comments we received afterwards:

Everyone should see this!
Fun and inspiring!
Very impressed by the diversity represented by the actors
It's good to see the faces of the people who grow our food
TURNIP-TOP PESTO * Turnip Greens * Kale * Dill * Olive Oil * * Lemon Juice * Garlic * Green Pumpkin Seeds * Salt
Our kids loved the Claymation scenes
How did you make the turnip-top pesto?
Can you bring this to our school/community?

Haven't seen our Eco-Edutainment videos yet? You and your family are in for a treat! Take a break from Netflix or the latest movies, and have fun learning together. Kids of all ages love them!

Seen 'em before? Share with others in your network and help Magic Mama and NFLB spread the message: "Food is Too Good to Waste"! You can also share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. Muchas Gracias!

If you'd like to bring Kjersten/"Magic Mama" and the Eco-Edutainment experience to your child's school, please let us know by using our handy Contact Form. A teacher's companion guide for 4th, 5th and 6th grades is also in the works.

We'd like to thank our community volunteers and event partners who helped make our video premiere on November 19th such a success:

Freshly-prepared veggie/fruit trays, on the way to the Tasting Table

Corvallis High School's Green Team, for several pairs of nimble hands, great attitudes & nearly-zero waste kitchen prep of our beautiful fruit/veggie "food mandala" trays & refreshing agua fresca beverages. See a time-lapse of Calla, Emma, Eddie, Farren, Eliza and Kjersten in action!
Tina Dodge and the OSU Food Hero program, for providing wonderful giveaways and informative materials (in Spanish and English) for our event attendees. If you've got kids at home during school breaks, set 'em loose in the kitchen with easy recipes and videos for dozens of kid-approved dishes from this chock-fulla-resources site! (We've mentioned Food Hero a number of times in Kitchen Confessions.)
Corvallis Community Center (C3) staff -- especially Carl and Rue, for going above and beyond with technical assistance;
Chris, volunteer with Benton To Go and the Waste Prevention Action Team;
Lauri at Green Girl Reusable Partyware;
The rest of our stellar volunteer crew, who helped with set up, compost pails, food running/serving, and cleanup: Macy, Cole, Kelli, Sydney, Bethany & daughter, Kate and Kalesh.

SCENES FROM OUR COMMUNITY EVENT!

Back to school eats and Eco-Edutainment

September 22, 2021 // by K'Rene (Karen) Kos

Autumn Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

For everyone with children who are physically back in school (K-12) this fall, we hope the adjustment is going well. Students need good quality food to assist them in learning — so HOORAY for all those who help make that happen, including school food service workers, nutrition program administrators, and all the parents, relatives or caregivers who make lunches to-go for their kiddos!

If prepping and fixing healthy school-day lunches is on your daily to-do list — and especially if you’ve got a picky eater or two (like the one in our cover photo) — here’s a few suggestions we hope you will find helpful and save you $$:

Involve kiddos in the preparation of their own lunches occasionally, as appropriate for their age(s). It’s an ideal time for them to learn about safe food prep and storage, as well as getting in the habit of using the “Eat First!” shelf in the fridge or pantry. They’ll probably love picking things out and helping you plan the week. My son enjoyed making, and eating, “Ants On A Log,” stuffed celery sticks topped with raisins or cranberries.

BONUS: When kids help make their lunches, they’ll probably end up wasting less of them!

Speaking of food safety, here’s a great infographic (in English and Spanish) from the USDA.
Check out the colorful, kid-friendly recipes and resources at Food Hero.org (OSU Extension Service).
Do a nightly lunch box “waste audit” together!
Replace (as much as possible) single-serving, plastic-packaged convenience foods with reusable containers or lunch totes with compartment trays that you load up yourself.

Sustainable food habits will serve children for the rest of their lives. That’s a key takeaway from a recent Kitchen Confessions supporting all of you who are training our young future chefs and Conscientious Consumers. Thanks for all you do!

AT SCHOOL LUNCHTIME, KIDS CAN:

Learn to appreciate everything that goes into their food, from precious natural resources to the human labor that produced it. NFLB’s new videos (mentioned below) introduce kids to real farm workers, including some here in Benton County at Gathering Together Farm;
Eat “ugly food” — like funny-shaped or bruised produce — because it still tastes great;
Whether bringing or buying lunch, remember to “Take-What-You-Can-Eat / Eat-What-You-Take!”
Enjoy sharing food they can’t or won’t eat. Fortunately, Corvallis school lunchrooms have Sharing Tables, where students can leave certain kinds of unconsumed food items (whole fruit or unopened packages) rather than tossing them in the compost or trash.

Here’s an overview of sustainable lunchroom practices from Oregon Green Schools.

KAREN CONFESSES: Back when I fixed lunches for my kid, I tended to pack more than he could eat. I was so anxious about proper nourishment for his growing body! Eventually I learned that he was using his lunch period more for socializing than eating (which also meant by the time he got home from school, he was super hungry).

Of course, the remnants in his lunch tote that were beyond rescue ended up in the compost. But now I wish I had been more conscious — and taught him more conscientiously — about the true value of that wasted food!

I also used my share of plastic wrap, snack baggies that couldn’t be reused, and over-packaged “convenience” food products.

$$$ WASTED: under $10/week? (Now I really wish I had kept track.)

LESSON LEARNED: Being conscious about wasted food is an every day exercise — whether it’s a school lunch or a full-blown family meal. And the earlier the better, when it comes to teaching kids! HOWEVER, I did get the benefit of insight from almost-nightly “waste audits” of his lunch box, where he tended to dump everything — peels, gooey plastic wrap, empty mini tubs of cream cheese, and all.

Now my kid is no longer a kid, and he fixes his own lunch for work. He says he doesn’t waste much by keeping it simple and packing just a few items that he’s sure will be consumed. Hooray! Somehow he did learn to “take what you can eat/eat what you take!” — as my colleague Kjersten sings in one of her Eco-Edutainment pieces.

*****

Kjersten “Magic Mama” Hallin (from video)

NEW VIDEOS HELP STUDENTS LEARN WHY & HOW TO WASTE LESS

No Food Left Behind is super-excited to soon roll out its first-ever “Eco-Edutainment” video lesson (in both English and Spanish) for Corvallis area fourth and fifth grade students, developed by our educational specialist Kjersten Hallin. Before the pandemic, Kjersten delighted kids with her creative in-classroom, interactive performances, helping teachers meet district and state education standards in core educational areas.

In late 2020, Kjersten began the challenging task of digitizing her educational presentations into a 45-minute lesson for teachers and students. This lesson in three videos transforms facts into an inspiring mix of catchy raps and songs, graphics and claymation animation, as well as peer-group student actors, to motivate kids to make a commitment to waste less every day.

NFLB’s new Eco-Edutainment videos will be available to educators this term – links coming soon! Check out a 3-minute promo and other details on our website.

*****

Eco-Edutainment video teasers:

Kids rocking the waste-less kitchen

July 16, 2021 // by K'Rene (Karen) Kos

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumer Families!

In this edition of Kitchen Confessions, we’d like to offer some resources and support to families of Future Chefs and Conscientious Consumers. It’s the middle of summer vacation, so hopefully you are having some opportunities to enjoy spending time in the kitchen together!

How many of your treasured memories involve cooking and food preparation in the family kitchen? Did the pandemic help your family rediscover the joy of cooking at home?

Many kids are eager to help in the kitchen from the time they can maneuver on their own two feet in there and comprehend an adult’s instructions. From that point on, they’re learning significant life lessons about the value of food, food preferences, nutrition and how to shop, as well as desirable practices in the handling and preparation of food. Sustainable food practices are skills that will serve children for the rest of their lives!

Just like us grownups — but as appropriate for their age and with adult supervision — kids can learn how to plan meals and create shopping lists for what’s on the plan, to properly store perishable food and, finally, how to prepare it. After the meal, they can learn how to properly freeze leftovers and other foods, and to start regularly scouting the “Eat First” areas in the fridge or freezer. (All these “Smart Strategies” available in Spanish.)

Young Farmers’ Market patron’s waste-less pledge: “Take only what I will eat”

KNOW-HOW FOR KIDZ WHO COOK

You may already be familiar with the glow of pride and accomplishment on a child’s face when the family enjoys a dish or meal that he/she/they helped prepare, or that they made all by themselves!

Excellent resources for kids learning to cook are available from Oregon State University’s KidSpirit year-round programs (scholarships available), and Food Hero, offered free by the OSU Extension Service’s Family and Community Health division.

Both programs emphasize safe kitchen practices (including washing hands often) and offer an extensive selection of kid-friendly recipes for making healthy food, while helping kids develop confidence and have fun! Food Hero’s compendium of family resources includes gardening, large-batch cooking, and information for older adults and in Spanish.

Be sure to check out the huge list of videos at Food Hero’s Kids Cooking Show — including Grape and Cucumber Salad, a fresh and yummy summertime snack!

WASTE-LESS KIDZ WHO COOK:

Are learning to make the most of a family grocery budget, instead of just tossing things in the compost or garbage. (The average American family of four wastes at least $1,600 a year on food that was purchased but not eaten!)
May stretch their comfort zones as picky eaters. (I had one of those in my home.) A kid who says “beets are gross” may be willing to sample some pretty pink-colored hummus that he/she/they made themselves from a kid-friendly recipe. Bonus: beet juice is great for coloring summertime Easter eggs!
Eat “ugly” produce (like apples with minor bruising, spotted grapes, strangely-shaped tomatoes) or other food products with less-than-perfect characteristics — and have fun doing it. Next time you see the OSU student Organic Growers Club at the downtown Saturday Farmers’ Market, ask if they still give away free “ugly” produce!
Learn portion control early. Many kids are happy to serve themselves when they get the chance. Let’s help them be like our young Farmers’ Market patron (above) who pledged to “take only what I will eat” on her next plate!
Learn good waste-less habits early. Check out these waste-less training tips for kids from SaveTheFood.com to see how they resonate with your parenting approach.
Make friends with their family freezer. Remember those overripe bananas that were saved from the compost a couple months ago by popping them in the freezer? It’s Banana Smoothie Time! Or popsicles… Or maybe even banana ice cream for breakfast!
Get creative with what’s collecting on the “Eat First” shelf in the fridge. See a video of the “aha” moment for this father and daughter below! Delight your budding chef with the task of assembling “Bagel Faces” from leftover veggie and fruit pieces, or maybe the last few olives in the jar. Thanks to Mollie Katzen and her charmingly-illustrated cookbooks for younger children.
Keep making friends with their family freezer. Oh boy! Frozen grape “ice cubes” (great for iced tea and sodas)! All because somebody got proactive with the last third of a bunch that had started to shrivel. Veggie freezing tips here.
Enjoy portion control as part of summertime grilling and social gatherings. Foil-wrapped grill packages or bamboo skewers (with the sharpest point removed) are perfect for this. First kids help prep ingredients, then load up their own appropriately-sized servings. Wrinkled cherry tomatoes and peppers from the “Eat First” shelf can be pretty tasty right off the grill! Same with summer squash, onions, leftover chicken nuggets/tempeh, or what have you.

Getting creative with what’s already in the fridge! Credit: StopFoodWaste.org

*****

NEW IN LOCAL SCHOOLS THIS FALL!
A fun educational video in English and Spanish, starring local kids

We’re pleased to shine a brief spotlight on NFLB’s amazing “Eco-EduTainment” program for local schools, run by our Outreach Specialist Kjersten Hallin, aka Magic Mama. When the pandemic shut down schools, she also shifted digital and began developing an educational video as a fun new way to teach kids about the massive issues around food waste and climate change.

Anyone who’s seen “Magic Mama” at the downtown Farmers’ Market (prior to COVID19) or in their classroom knows what a delightful presence she brings to this huge topic. Her curriculum, delivered with the help of some catchy raps performed on unusual handmade instruments (like a repurposed pizza box), inspires kids to “rock” the prevention of wasted food in their own families and social circles of influence.

More than just entertaining, Kjersten’s presentations also help schools fulfill their district’s core and STEM education goals. (Please click on the photo to jump to NFLB’s Eco-EduTainment program page.)

Watch for exciting details about the Eco-EduTainment videos, launching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms this fall!

Eco-Edutainment video teasers:

Footer