Food Podcast: Pittsburgh food bank encourages sustainability, participation in Earth Day activities

April is Food Waste Awareness Month, and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is highlighting ways it keeps sustainability at the forefront of its work.

Kurt Lindsay is a community food connections coordinator at the food bank. He works on a three-person team to bring in food that may otherwise be thrown out.

“Our community Food Connections team works with most of our food donors who donate food to our network of agencies. In 2020, we received about 11.4 million pounds of food, which is about 9.5 million meals,” Lindsay said.

Last year, the food bank picked up about 220,000 pounds of rescued food each day. That food is sorted and then distributed to food pantries and other agencies.

This not only helps to feed people, but it also protects the environment.

“Food waste creates methane emissions in landfills, which is 25 times stronger than carbon-dioxide emissions in regards to the greenhouse effect over a 100-year period,” Lindsay said.

The food bank tries to rescue food so it goes to people who need it. If it can’t be consumed by people, the food may be used by farmers who can use it to feed their animals or be composted.

“I define sustainability as a way of meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs,” Lindsay said.

Sustainability is not a new concept for the food bank.

“When our food bank in Duquesne was built, it was the first LEED-certified food bank in the country,” Lindsay said.

LEED certification focuses on many sustainable practices, which provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings. These standards are being incorporated into the food bank’s new building that is being constructed.

“We want to set an example to show whether it’s a Fortune 500 company trying to adopt sustainable practices or a nonprofit organization like ours, we can take realistic actions to reduce our environmental impact,” Lindsay said.

There are many ways people can adopt sustainable practices at home. Try reducing food waste and seeing whether organizations such as food banks can accept your food donations. Composting at home repurposes organic waste such as produce, egg shells and coffee grounds.

Lindsay encourages people to advocate for sustainable programs such as compost pickup in their communities.

“There have been great success stories in the U.K. and some cities in the United States with municipal compost pickup programs. If we want to see that in our neighborhoods, then we’re going to have to get involved and make our representatives aware that these programs are important to us,” he said.

Earth Day is April 22. The food bank encouraged individuals to take part in sustainable activities and suggest family and friends join in.

Listen: Food waste awareness month