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Row by RowMeasuring Food Loss �in the Field

Jeannie Hunter

Regional Director

The Society of St. Andrew

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The Society of St. Andrew

The Society of St. Andrew brings people together to harvest and share healthy food, reduce food waste, and build caring communities by offering nourishment to hungry neighbors.

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Gleaning

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Gleaning

The Gleaners, by Jean-Francois Millet, 1857

Some gleaners, Middle Tennessee, 2019

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Gleaning

  • Packing Houses
  • Truckloads
  • School Share Tables
  • Farmers’ Markets
  • Retail
  • Edible Arrangements

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SoSA’s Output in Tennessee

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Nationally:�1,000,000,000 �poundsin September 2024!

SoSA’s Output

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Food Loss

Why it might go unharvested or unused between farm and grocery store:

  • Shape
  • Size
  • Curvature
  • Color
  • Time of year
  • Stock levels

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The Project

  • Nashville Food Waste Initiative
  • Lisa K. Johnson
  • TDEC
  • EPA

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The Project

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The Project

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The Project

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The Project

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Results

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Results

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Results

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Results

What we learn by measuring is that there’s far more food left behind than we realized.

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What does this information do for growers?

  • More precise understanding of what’s going on in the field can help with other decisions:
      • Value added
      • Harvest again?
      • Gleaners

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Measuring

  • Easy to do yourself
  • Easy to invite SoSA out to glean

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One more benefit of gleaning…�field hygiene.

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Questions?

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Resources

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Contact Me

Jeannie Hunter

TN Regional Director

615-878-6134

Tennessee@endhunger.org

Endhunger.org/Tennessee