Did you know that nearly 40% of all food produced in North America is never eaten? Or that 97% of food waste in the United States ends up in the landfill or incinerated? These were just two of the shocking revelations in the film documentary Just Eat It, shown Thursday night as part of this year's Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival.

The screening and panel discussion that followed is one component of a food waste prevention campaign by Tompkins County Solid Waste Division with support of a nearly $15,000 grant from the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I). The project will further the County's goal of 75% waste diversion by the end of 2016.

"The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is pleased to support Tompkins County in bringing Just Eat It to FLEFF," said Anahita Williamson, director of NYSP2I. "We're especially excited the film focused on reducing residential food waste and engages residents and community members in the effort to confront this important environmental challenge."

"Our goal is to reduce food waste before it is generated," said Kat McCarthy, Tompkins County's Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist. "We hope to show people simple, accessible strategies that can help them save money, conserve resources and reduce waste, while making food more available to those in need."

Meaghan Sheehan Rosen, the Program Coordinator at Friendship Donations Network, reminded the audience to think of food waste in a different light. "Friendship Donations Network has been rescuing food in Tompkins County since 1988," she said. "Our network of volunteers collects over 1,000 pounds of food every day from stores, farms and other food donors and distributes it to hunger relief programs serving 2,000 people weekly. There is still a lot of good food being wasted in our community and our mission is to recover as much as possible."

Other elements of the Tompkins County food waste prevention campaign include development of an educational module for classroom presentations and tours, a social media campaign to inspire residents to take simple steps to reduce waste, and tools and tips for participants at the County's food scraps recycling drop spots to help them save money on shopping trips while watching their waste.

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