Learn about the problem of food waste and what Thistle is doing about it. By reducing food waste, together we can help both people and the planet.
Food fight! But not the school cafeteria variety. We’re talking about the fight to reduce food waste. It’s a serious problem that Thistle is committed to help solve. Sobering food waste facts and our passion for sustainability have lit a fire under us. We want to share with you all the ways we’re reducing food waste at Thistle.
Food Waste Facts
The big picture: A plant-based diet is a superpower in the food waste fight. Eating plants requires fewer natural resources and less is wasted in the growing, harvesting, processing, and storage of plant-based foods. All the labor, land, energy, and water used to produce food should count for something! A plant-based diet is your best bet.
Consider this example: It takes almost 30 gallons of water to produce one gram of beef. In comparison, it takes just five gallons of water to produce one gram of lentils. Then there are storage demands to consider. Beef requires refrigeration or freezing. Lentils sit on a pantry shelf. Beef goes bad, especially when it’s not frozen. Lentils remain edible for years.
By eating a plant-forward or plant-based diet, you’re already making huge strides toward reducing food waste. The virtues of a plant-forward diet frame almost everything we do at Thistle; food waste reduction is no exception.
Need some more convincing to join the food waste fight? Check out these food waste facts:
- Americans waste almost 220 pounds of food per person per year, which amounts to about 1,500 calories worth of food per person per day.
- Annually, 31% (1.3 billion tons!) of the global food supply goes to waste. Given that 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure and 11% of the world’s population don’t get enough to eat, this is a moral issue. All that food could feed two billion people.
- Food waste costs the global economy $750 billion per year. Just think about the good that money could do.
- 37% of food waste happens in households, the bulk of which is fruits and vegetables.
- Across all sectors — farms, production facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, households, etc. — 57% of food waste is actually edible. Again, this is a moral issue. With so many people facing food insecurity, edible food should not go to waste.
- Food accounts for 22% of the solid waste we send to landfills and generates 17.7% of US methane emissions, one of the worst culprits of climate change. Food waste’s carbon footprint is greater than the airline industry’s!
Thistle’s Commitment to Food Waste Reduction
In keeping with our commitment to sustainability, we’ve been intentional about reducing food waste from day one. Currently, Thistle produces half the food waste of a normal restaurant, and less than a tenth of the 30-40% of total food the average household throws away.
Food Waste Solutions at Thistle
Though some amount of food waste is unavoidable especially in a food business like ours, a variety of waste reduction efforts mean we keep it to a minimum. In 2020, we cut our food waste in half, and we’re not stopping there! Here's how we're committed to continuing to reduce waste in our operation:
Recapture Excess Ingredients
Food waste reduction never tasted so good. About 20% of our excess food becomes the key ingredients in Thistle’s nourishing seasonal soups. Found on the sides menu, these four tasty rotating soups feature our kitchen’s freshest excess ingredients. Last year, over 20,000 pounds of leftover ingredients were transformed into soup.
We also use excess produce in our meals and snacks. Whether it be for crudités or salads, we see any excess produce as a chance to pack even more nutrient-dense vegetables into our menu offerings.
Give Back to Our Communities
Thistle donates meals to local food banks and community organizations that provide food to those in need. In 2020 alone, we donated more than 25,000 meals to several organizations.
At East Oakland Collective and Berkeley Food Pantry in Northern California and Food Finders in Southern California, our prepared, ready-to-eat meals find their way to those who need them most. Some of Thistle’s raw or unused excess ingredients go to Replate, which delivers them directly to homes or to non-profits who work with people experiencing food insecurity.
Feed Our Team
You better believe we offer Thistle team members our delicious, ready-to-eat, plant-forward meals! When we have lots of leftover plated meals, employees at our production facility can take their pick. Staff favorites include our delicious jar salads, snacks, and pasta dishes.
Return to Farms
To keep as much as possible out of landfills and to help restore minerals and nutrients to the soil, we donate the by-product of our meals and any excess ingredients we can’t use, such as cabbage cores and pepper stems are composted. We even have a team member who uses our production facility’s kitchen scraps to feed his pet chickens!
Future Food Waste Solutions
This year, we want to cut food waste even more. To meet this goal, in addition to the above measures, we’re improving our projections and recipes so that we order the exact amount of ingredients we need — no more and no less. We are also constantly refining our recipes and yields in order to minimize any overproduction of ingredients.
Have a suggestion to help Thistle further reduce food waste? We love considering new ideas that help take us to the next level sustainability-wise. Drop us a line at hello@thistle.co.
Learn about the problem of food waste and what Thistle is doing about it. By reducing food waste, together we can help both people and the planet.
Food fight! But not the school cafeteria variety. We’re talking about the fight to reduce food waste. It’s a serious problem that Thistle is committed to help solve. Sobering food waste facts and our passion for sustainability have lit a fire under us. We want to share with you all the ways we’re reducing food waste at Thistle.
Food Waste Facts
The big picture: A plant-based diet is a superpower in the food waste fight. Eating plants requires fewer natural resources and less is wasted in the growing, harvesting, processing, and storage of plant-based foods. All the labor, land, energy, and water used to produce food should count for something! A plant-based diet is your best bet.
Consider this example: It takes almost 30 gallons of water to produce one gram of beef. In comparison, it takes just five gallons of water to produce one gram of lentils. Then there are storage demands to consider. Beef requires refrigeration or freezing. Lentils sit on a pantry shelf. Beef goes bad, especially when it’s not frozen. Lentils remain edible for years.
By eating a plant-forward or plant-based diet, you’re already making huge strides toward reducing food waste. The virtues of a plant-forward diet frame almost everything we do at Thistle; food waste reduction is no exception.
Need some more convincing to join the food waste fight? Check out these food waste facts:
- Americans waste almost 220 pounds of food per person per year, which amounts to about 1,500 calories worth of food per person per day.
- Annually, 31% (1.3 billion tons!) of the global food supply goes to waste. Given that 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure and 11% of the world’s population don’t get enough to eat, this is a moral issue. All that food could feed two billion people.
- Food waste costs the global economy $750 billion per year. Just think about the good that money could do.
- 37% of food waste happens in households, the bulk of which is fruits and vegetables.
- Across all sectors — farms, production facilities, grocery stores, restaurants, households, etc. — 57% of food waste is actually edible. Again, this is a moral issue. With so many people facing food insecurity, edible food should not go to waste.
- Food accounts for 22% of the solid waste we send to landfills and generates 17.7% of US methane emissions, one of the worst culprits of climate change. Food waste’s carbon footprint is greater than the airline industry’s!
Thistle’s Commitment to Food Waste Reduction
In keeping with our commitment to sustainability, we’ve been intentional about reducing food waste from day one. Currently, Thistle produces half the food waste of a normal restaurant, and less than a tenth of the 30-40% of total food the average household throws away.
Food Waste Solutions at Thistle
Though some amount of food waste is unavoidable especially in a food business like ours, a variety of waste reduction efforts mean we keep it to a minimum. In 2020, we cut our food waste in half, and we’re not stopping there! Here's how we're committed to continuing to reduce waste in our operation:
Recapture Excess Ingredients
Food waste reduction never tasted so good. About 20% of our excess food becomes the key ingredients in Thistle’s nourishing seasonal soups. Found on the sides menu, these four tasty rotating soups feature our kitchen’s freshest excess ingredients. Last year, over 20,000 pounds of leftover ingredients were transformed into soup.
We also use excess produce in our meals and snacks. Whether it be for crudités or salads, we see any excess produce as a chance to pack even more nutrient-dense vegetables into our menu offerings.
Give Back to Our Communities
Thistle donates meals to local food banks and community organizations that provide food to those in need. In 2020 alone, we donated more than 25,000 meals to several organizations.
At East Oakland Collective and Berkeley Food Pantry in Northern California and Food Finders in Southern California, our prepared, ready-to-eat meals find their way to those who need them most. Some of Thistle’s raw or unused excess ingredients go to Replate, which delivers them directly to homes or to non-profits who work with people experiencing food insecurity.
Feed Our Team
You better believe we offer Thistle team members our delicious, ready-to-eat, plant-forward meals! When we have lots of leftover plated meals, employees at our production facility can take their pick. Staff favorites include our delicious jar salads, snacks, and pasta dishes.
Return to Farms
To keep as much as possible out of landfills and to help restore minerals and nutrients to the soil, we donate the by-product of our meals and any excess ingredients we can’t use, such as cabbage cores and pepper stems are composted. We even have a team member who uses our production facility’s kitchen scraps to feed his pet chickens!
Future Food Waste Solutions
This year, we want to cut food waste even more. To meet this goal, in addition to the above measures, we’re improving our projections and recipes so that we order the exact amount of ingredients we need — no more and no less. We are also constantly refining our recipes and yields in order to minimize any overproduction of ingredients.
Have a suggestion to help Thistle further reduce food waste? We love considering new ideas that help take us to the next level sustainability-wise. Drop us a line at hello@thistle.co.
