The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected Orange Coast College’s Recovery Kitchen as a recipient of its 2021 Food Recovery Challenge National Award for Education and Outreach.
“Reducing food waste represents an environmental and economic benefit for communities in our region,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “The Food Recovery Challenge Awardees in California are leading the way, modeling how organizations across the state can address food insecurity, prevent methane emissions that contribute to climate change, and make cost-saving business decisions.”
OCC’s Recovery Kitchen was founded in 2019 as part of the food service management program at the College. The recovery kitchen was formed to help end student hunger and food waste on campus. The kitchen also helps students in the food service management, culinary arts, baking and pastry, and nutrition programs gain experience working in a commercial high-volume kitchen, with emphasis on proper handling and processing of recovered foods.
“Orange Coast College is honored to receive this award from the EPA in recognition of the incredible work being done by the students, faculty and volunteers in our Recovery Kitchen,” said College President Angelica Suarez. “As one of the largest college campuses in Orange County, and in the state of California, we are committed to lowering our carbon footprint while also addressing inequities in food security and public health.”
The OCC Recovery Kitchen collaborates with the College’s on-campus food pantry, the Pirate’s Cove, and its Food Services, culinary arts, nutrition and dietetics, and horticulture programs to recover food for the student body and local food banks. In 2020, OCC’s Recovery Kitchen distributed 212,392 meals and recovered 609,541 pounds of surplus edible food that would otherwise go to landfill. The recovered food was used to create pre-packaged meals that benefited students and community members experiencing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our main purpose is to lower food insecurity among our students and reduce our campus’s food waste through curriculum and collaboration,” said Alexandra Yates, Faculty Director of the Food Service Management Program at OCC. “No student should ever go hungry. If we can tie it to curriculum so that we can train our future leaders, we can all work towards finding a solution to this problem.”
Nearly 600 businesses, government agencies and organizations across the country participated in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge in 2020-2021. Through the Challenge, EPA has worked with organizations and businesses for the past decade to set data-driven goals, implement targeted strategies to reduce wasted food in their operations, and report results to compete for recognition.
To see the complete list of 2020-2021 California awardees visit the EPA website.