Que No Se Pierda la Cosecha / From Food Waste to Culturally Valued Communities

Project Overview

FLW24-009
Project Type: Community Foods Project
Funds awarded in 2024: $499,548.00
Projected End Date: 08/31/2027
Grant Recipient: El Departamento de la Comida
Region: National
State: Puerto Rico
Project Leader:
Marielisa Sabat
El Departamento de la Comida

Commodities

No commodities identified

Practices

  • Sustainable Communities: food access and security, food loss and waste recovery/reduction, food sovereignty

    Proposal abstract:

    El Departamento de la Comida will
    serve as a leader in developing best practices to build capacity
    within rural farms, food hubs, small businesses, and community
    groups to reduce food loss/waste (FLW) through refining and
    sharing our replicable, scalable food hub model for FLW
    reduction. We envision our role in reducing FLW as similar to the
    role of mycelium in soil—to nourish, sustain, and create
    connections between producers, consumers, and food. This project
    addresses the prevalent issue of FLW in Caguas, Puerto Rico by
    implementing a multifaceted strategy centered on community
    engagement, education, and innovative food recovery
    methods. 

    Collaborating with the University
    of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, our initiative begins with the
    development of a comprehensive vulnerability map. We will develop
    a map of our local ecosystem of markets, farmers, and consumers
    to determine where and why food loss and waste occurs in our
    communities. This research will provide crucial information that
    will allow us to focus our efforts on critical areas, and track
    changes in the locations and distribution of vulnerable sites
    over time.

    Key objectives of the project
    include creating pathways for food rescue and educating local
    farmers on sustainable production practices to minimize surplus.
    Over a three-year period, we will partner with Trito
    Agro-Industrial Services to implement tailored solutions
    for underserved farmers and food businesses,

    emphasizing producing only what
    is needed,
    integrating
    improved harvesting and storage techniques, and planning for
    natural disasters. Concurrently, surplus produce will be rescued
    and transformed into shelf-stable products through our food hub
    kitchen, reducing waste while increasing economic opportunities
    for farmers.

    Central to our approach is the
    establishment of our food hub kitchen as a test site for
    developing and refining standard operating procedures to minimize
    FLW while upcycling produce. Our food hub will also provide
    nutritious meals to food-insecure community members. Through
    educational workshops and cooking classes, we will empower
    residents to adopt practices that simultaneously reduce FLW in
    homes and support local agriculture. This initiative strengthens
    food sovereignty and fosters a resilient local food system
    capable of withstanding external shocks, such as natural
    disasters. 

    Evaluation will be integral to
    our project’s success. We will track the impact of our activities
    on underserved farmers and communities, measure the volume of
    food recovered, and align with regional priorities for FLW
    initiatives. By continuously evaluating and adapting our
    strategies based on data-informed insights, we will achieve
    sustainable reductions in FLW, enhance economic vitality, and
    promote food security throughout Caguas.

    Our project represents a holistic
    and community-driven approach to tackling FLW, leveraging local
    partnerships and innovation to create lasting positive change in
    Puerto Rico’s food landscape. By empowering stakeholders and
    implementing evidence-based practices, we envision a future where
    FLW is minimized, and every community member has access to
    nutritious food options. The lessons learned and materials
    produced through this project will be disseminated to other food
    rescue organizations as a replicable and scalable model of
    successfully implementing FLW in communities that are
    systemically underserved and overburdened by the impacts of
    climate change.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    1. Develop a vulnerability map of
      our local ecosystem, including markets, community kitchens,
      food retailers, farmers, and schools to determine where and why
      FLW occurs. Analyze and share the data collected to inform
      project activities.
    2. Create pathways to strengthen
      food rescue from 10 local farms or food businesses and educate
      them to identify FLW in their operations, learn to reduce the
      volume of surplus food generated, and determine other ways to
      increase crops utilized or sold. 
    3. Refine and codify standard
      operating procedures for our Kitchen program to minimize FLW of
      bought, donated, and rescued food during processing and other
      operations. 
    4. Identify the quantity of
      surplus produce within our food chain and donate to other
      community groups as well as transform at least 25% into
      value-added and shelf-stable products annually through our
      Kitchen program, workshops, and point of sale.
    5. Provide value-added and
      shelf-stable products to community members experiencing food
      and/or nutrition insecurity and for events like natural
      disasters where it is likely food access will be a greater
      need.
    6. Work with producers and farmers
      to improve animal nutrition through diverted surplus food
      converted to feed.
    7. Grow our capacity to host
      educational and training workshops for our community focused on
      reducing FLW, sharing actionable practices and community-based
      strategies and preparing culturally-significant, traditional
      meals. 
    8. Engage in a constant cycle of
      evaluation of data collected and trainings offered to
      incorporate iterative changes for continuous, responsive
      improvement of the project. 
    9. Strengthen supply chain
      resiliency in San Salvador and neighboring communities
      connected to our food system in order to increase community
      self-reliance in providing for our own food needs.
    10. Serve as a leader in developing
      best practices to build capacity within rural farms, food hubs,
      small businesses, and community groups to reduce FLW through
      refining and sharing our replicable, scalable food hub model
      for FLW reduction.
    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.