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First-Ever ‘Disco
Soup’ Event Will Highlight Food Waste Prevention, Fun
EAST BOSTON—Sunday, November 8th, Bostonians will converge on the Ashley Street
YMCA Teaching Kitchen for the city’s first-ever Disco Soup event. Not your
average dinner party, Disco Soup brings together guests for a night of hands-on
food preparation followed by good food, music, and company. The twist is that
the produce on hand would have been destined for landfill. The Boston event will
begin at 5 p.m. and wrap up around 10 p.m.
Originating in Europe, the “Disco Soup” concept was born as a way to give
attention to the fact that humans waste a lot of food — as much as 40 percent in
the United States or, according to the United States Department of Agriculture,
133 billion pounds of food annually. Aside from seeming downright extravagant,
wasted food has serious consequences for the planet, representing hefty amounts
of energy, water, and land use, as well as methane emissions in landfills.
Recognizing food waste as a problem, the state of Massachusetts and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency are implementing plans to reduce waste in every
step of the food system. However, the World Research Institute estimates that
almost two thirds of U.S. food waste comes from consumers — meaning that the
majority of waste happens right in our own homes.
“Knowing how much we waste as consumers is shocking, but it’s also reason for
hope,” says Molly Gee, a graduate in Sustainable Design from the Boston
Architectural College and the event’s lead organizer. “When you look at the
problems we face environmentally and socially, it’s easy to think, ‘I’m just one
person, what difference can I make?’ With food waste, the average person can
make a big difference. If we each decide to cut our day-to-day waste, the
implications are huge.”
New York City hosted the nation’s first major Disco Soup, and now Boston is
making Disco Soup its own. The event is a collaboration of Slow Food Boston, the
Ashley Street YMCA Teaching Kitchen, and the East Boston Food Policy Council.
Ingredients for cooking will be donated by Food for Free — a nonprofit that
collects would-be wasted food and redistributes it to those in need. In keeping
with Food for Free’s mission, Disco Soup will donate the food prepared at the
event to a local soup kitchen. Dinner for guests will be provided by pop-up
restaurant East Boston Oysters; other participants include Bootstrap Compost and
the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. Beer and wine will be available through
a cash bar.
Tickets are $15 and are purchased online; more information can be found at the
event page.
For media inquiries, please contact Molly Gee, 207-577-0105 or
molly.gee@the-bac.edu.
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