From Food Waste to Sustainable Farming

Written by John Hahn
Across the world, it has become increasingly common to throw away surplus food. This became the practice in order to maintain price points. Source reduction, or reducing the amount of surplus food, sits on top of La Soupe’s food recovery hierarchy. But, what other options are there if surplus food already exists?  

Food Recovery Hierarchy
This a framework for reducing food waste and ensuring that excess food is used in the most socially, economically, and environmentally beneficial way possible. It consists of five levels: source reduction, feed people, feed animals, industrial uses, and landfill/incineration. We strive to uphold the principles of the food recovery hierarchy, maximizing our efforts to utilize food in the most responsible and conscientious manner possible.

Since 2015, La Soupe has continued to expand its ability to feed people. In 2022, La Soupe rescued 1.25 million pounds of food that would otherwise be sent to landfills, almost 25,000 pounds per week. With La Soupe’s basement expansion in early 2024, this number is likely to only get higher. Along with direct donations (food that is not prepared by chefs), fresh meals, and culinary classes, La Soupe’s mission also assists in the creation of a sustainable world and food system. Aside from feeding people, another part of creating sustainability is feeding animals. Humans cannot eat items like a moldy peach or expired steak. So, what happens to the food that is sorted and determined to be inedible to humans? That too can avoid the landfill through partnerships with local farmers and organizations. Through La Soupe, Mark Findley, Jimmy Wilsom, and Marvin Duren are able to acquire feed for their chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, and cows. Findley and Wilson estimated that around 90% of their feed comes from La Soupe. However, none of these animals are fed meat. In order to solve this problem, La Soupe is also partnered with the Red Wolf Sanctuary and Red Riding Hood, two organizations which take care of wolves and wolf-dogs. The Red Wolf Sanctuary even houses other species such as coyotes, foxes, bears, bobcats, and birds of prey. 

The sad reality is that much like humans, animals have increasingly been fed highly processed food with lower and lower nutritional content. This can be seen in the quality of products people eat such as eggs. Findley and Wilson both noted that you can see the difference fresh food makes in the color of their eggs’ yolks. Fresh food can also lead to higher buttermilk content, which Findley uses to make cheese and butter. It also makes “the best lard you ever had,” Wilson said.