Uncategorized
Amuse-Bouche: Wait, don’t throw that away!
Published
7 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersOne day not that long ago, as I was pumping gas in Bozeman, I saw an employee wheel a large Rubbermaid cart through the parking lot. It was packed with frozen pizzas, Hot Pockets and some other freezer items not easily identifiable.
I triangulated her trajectory. She was headed for the dumpster. I watched as she held the lid open with one hand and began tossing the boxes in with the other.
I approached the woman. “Those must be expired,” I said.
“Yep,” she said.
“I would take some of those off your hands,” I said with a smile. I wasn’t interested in personally consuming any of the items, but I knew I could find someone who would.
Her answer was shocking.
“Oh no, sir,” she said. “No one is allowed to take expired foods.”
By her conviction and apparent adherence to whatever rules she followed, one would have thought she was being asked to hand over government secrets, mishandle biochemical materials or worse yet, tear the tag off a mattress.
“Well I’d like to take them to the homeless man I just saw on the corner,” I said. Now, simply out of principle, I was as irritated as she was.
“Sir, I cannot allow you to take these!” She was clearly agitated by now.
“Well that’s unfortunate,” I said.
As I walked away, I reflected that not long ago, I wrote about what to do with leftovers in the refrigerator. And yet this employee’s rule was to discard a cart full of frozen foods. Not fresh, but frozen foods.
Why such ardent fear?
You might be wondering who would want to eat a Hot Pocket in the first place, let alone an expired one. While I agree, the fact is that it’s highly unlikely there was anything wrong with the food being tossed in the dumpster.
Through my profession, travels and all-around curiosity, I’ve come across many statistics that fascinate me. Friends say I accumulate useless information. But this particular fact I learned in a film entitled “Just Eat It” is truly astounding. According to this documentary, 40 percent of all food grown, raised or produced in the U.S. goes to waste. When I heard that, I didn’t even know what to think.
Worse yet, there are no federal laws on expiration dates. Consequently, each state’s date labeling laws are not based in science. “The practice around dating of foods in this country is just a complete mess,” says Don Schaffner, food scientist at Rutgers University, in the short film “Expired? Food Waste in America.”
And while we have much to be proud of in Montana, food labeling is not one of them. Montana is one of the worst states when it comes to sensible food labeling.
Take milk for example. Milk is a fully pasteurized product. That means that as awful as it may taste, it cannot make you physically ill. Yet its expiration dates in Montana are over a week earlier than other states. And not only is it not salable, it’s also illegal to donate.
According to No Kid Hungry, there are 13 million malnourished children in the U.S., yet we pour milk down the drain days earlier than other states. Perhaps this could move up on the list of things to do in Helena.
With items such as peaches, bananas and tomatoes regularly discarded simply because marketers have deemed them aesthetically unpleasing, imagine how many underprivileged children could be fed with even a fraction of food that’s been unwisely tossed out.
Scott Mechura has spent a life in the hospitality industry. He is a former certified beer judge and currently the Executive Chef at Buck’s T-4 Lodge in Big Sky.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
Upcoming Events
march, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy
more
Event Details
My Barking Dog is a nightmare comedy that tells the story of Toby and Melinda, two lonely people whose lives are forever changed the night they encounter a starving coyote at their apartment building. Over time they grow to expect him, leaving ritual offerings to entice the coyote every night. Toby and Melinda forge a connection over this visitor and share curiosity and concern about his presence in the city. The coyote expands their world–until, one night, their world is shattered. Their lives are pushed suddenly into uncharted territory, sending them on a surreal odyssey that changes their city–and the world–forever.
Directed by LX Miller. Starring Max Schneider and Denise Hergett
Verge Theater is continuing their mission to provide accessible theater to our community. Tickets for My Barking Dog are Pay What You Wish with a suggested price of $35. Audience members are offered the opportunity to select the price point that is comfortable for them when purchasing tickets.
My Barking Dog runs March 15-17, 22-24, 28-30
Performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays begin at 7:00 p.m., with Sunday matinees offered at 3:00 p.m.
Suitable for ages 16 . No animals are harmed in the staging of this production.
Tickets are available online at www.vergetheater.com
Time
15 (Friday) 7:00 pm - 30 (Saturday) 8:30 pm
Location
Verge Theater
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Event Details
Thursday of the Lord’s Supper Mass
St. Joseph Catholic Mission
Time
(Thursday) 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm