Combating Food Waste With Cyberchase

Some of my favorite things about Thanksgiving are spending time with my family and friends, preparing meals, sharing stories over food, and being thankful. Thanksgiving is also a time when a lot of food accidentally goes to waste. On a global scale, we waste up to a third of our food annually. In the United States, this equates to roughly 403 pounds of food per person. Even though one in seven Americans is food insecure, food is still wasted. These statistics are troubling. So, minimizing food loss is something I’m passionate about. I try to share my passion about it at home and in my restaurants. Or, as I explore new cultures and tasty cuisine on my PBS TV show, “No Passport Required."

One way I like to teach my three-year-old son, Zion, important life lessons is through cooking together. Cyberchase: Giving Thanks Day is a great resource for exploring what food waste is and finding kid-sized ways to help combat it. A couple of lessons include:

Ugly produce are fruits and vegetables that are not attractive enough to sell. But, they are just as tasty and healthy to eat as traditional produce. As a chef, I often ask myself how I can use that tomato. The one that’s a little beaten up but still packed with flavor. Or an avocado that’s just a little bit darker than the rest but not spoiled.

Plan more and purchase less by making sure you work out your menu ahead of time. Go to the store with a shopping list in hand and resist the temptations up and down your grocery food aisles.

Food upcycling is a fancy term for turning leftovers into an entirely new meal. I’ve created a recipe specifically for Cyberchase called “Leftover Turkey Cyber-Soup.” Food upcycling is a great way to transform Thanksgiving dinner into a meal that’s out of this world — and cyberspace!

By planning more, buying less and reusing our leftovers, we can all do our part in reducing food waste. This will benefit our children, our communities, and our world. We have a lot to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving!