Tickets on sale for the Spoonfuls Ultimate Tailgate fund raiser - Nov 3

"Tickets to our 2024 Ultimate Tailgate are officially on sale! 

Get your discounted Early Bird General Admission tickets now via the link in bio for the chance to treat your tastebuds to tailgate-inspired dishes from 30 of the region’s most celebrated restaurants, all while supporting Spoonfuls’ food recovery and hunger relief work.

We can’t wait to see you on November 3!"

Ultimate Tailgate tickets -> https://spoonfuls.org/ultimate-tailgate

Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/C_ifO_wO7bt/

Find out more about Spoonfuls on their web page ->  https://spoonfuls.org/

Tickets on sale for the Spoonfuls Ultimate Tailgate fund raiser - Nov 3

Empty Bowls Club students participated in Hunger Action Month Event

Empty Bowls Club students 

"Empty Bowls has kicked off our 10th year running with Spoonfuls! This past Thursday, the Franklin Food Pantry welcomed a Massachusetts-based food recovery organization, Spoonfuls, to speak about food insecurity and food waste. A handful of our EB officers attended this event and wanted to share some information and resources. Your actions, no matter how small, impact our community, so make sure to take any steps you can to help fight food insecurity!

Some actions you can take to reduce food waste within your very own home include:
- Using all of your leftovers
- Making, and sticking to, a set grocery list
- Rethinking “Best By” dates on food (see first image for guide)

For more information on Spoonfuls, check out their website spoonfuls.org and for more information about the Franklin Food Pantry check out franklinfoodpantry.org

Empty Bowls is ready for another great year 💜🥣"

@fhs_claystudio @franklinfoodpan @franklinmatters.ma @townoffranklinma @spoonfulsfoodrecovery

Shared from -> https://www.instagram.com/p/C_10DdFOVBb/

A study of five states’ food waste bans found that most were ineffective. - The Washington Post

"Nearly every state-led effort to ban food waste analyzed by researchers appears to be failing — except one, according to a new study.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, singled out Massachusetts for reducing the amount of food that gets tossed in the trash. But its more troubling findings in other states reveal how one of the most seemingly straightforward ways to tackle climate change is, in practice, a tough problem to solve.

Food waste is a pressing national problem. Of the millions of tons of food in the United States, more than 30 percent goes unsold and uneaten, according to ReFed, a research and advocacy group that works on food waste. Spoiled food makes up the single largest volume of material sent to landfills and incinerators, where it decomposes, releasing methane — a powerful greenhouse gas that is heating the planet. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency found emissions from food waste in the United States are roughly equal to more than 50 million cars on the road."

Continue reading the article online -> (via gift link)  https://wapo.st/3XpqFZP

The study referenced -> https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn4216

The article is timely in that the Hunger Action Month event Thursday evening featured Spoonfuls.org, a key player in the MA food recovery process. If you missed the event, you can get a taste of the topic  in the audio recording made with Liz Miller, Community Coordinator, of Spoonfuls, and Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry. The Pantry receives 2 deliveries a week of 1,000 pounds of fresh food on each delivery from Spoonfuls.

Listen here -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/09/listen-to-tina-liz-talk-about-how-food.html

A study of five states’ food waste bans found that most were ineffective. - The Washington Post

Listen to Tina & Liz talk about how food recovery helps the Franklin Food Pantry clients and climate (audio)

FM #1277 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1277 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry and Liz Miller, Community Coordinator of Spoonfuls.org. 

We spend time in this episode talking about September as Hunger Action Month, and how The Pantry partnership with Spoonfuls is helping to drive awareness around food recovery. Food recovery provides healthy, fresh foods for The Pantry clients and removes the recovered food from the landfill environment, a key climate goal. We had our conversation in the new location of the Franklin Food Pantry at Edwin’s. 

Listen to our conversation to find 

• How The Pantry receives 2 shipment of 1,000 pounds each per week

• How confusion about date labeling adds about 7% to the food waste 

• How food waste costs a typical family of about $1,500, yes more than $100/month

The recording runs about 37 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Tina and Liz. Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1277-franklin-food-pantry-hunger-action-month-09-05-24/

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Participate in the event Thursday, Sept 12, 2024 at the First Universalist Society of Franklin, a joint presentation by The Pantry and Spoonfuls. Free but registration recommended to confirm capacity requirements https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/hungeractionmonth/ 

For more about Spoonfuls, visit their page  https://spoonfuls.org/ 

Liz Miller’s LinkedIN profile -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethmonizmiller/

Tina Powderly’s LinkedIN profile -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-tavares-powderly-78a81131/ 

YouTube video of WGBH segment 10 years ago -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqSBXwnX8Gc 

Spoonful’s founder Liz Stanley’s TEDxRVA talk -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O_KDxJV3Ow 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm). 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

 

For additional information, please visit www.franklin.news or www.Franklinmatters.org/ 

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Listen to Tina & Liz talk about how food recovery helps the Franklin Food Pantry clients and climate (audio)

"Best by", "Sell by", "Use by" – Oh my!

"On average, the U.S. wastes an estimated 125 to 160 billion pounds of food each year . And where does it all end up? In a landfill, where it’s buried under mounds of toxic trash and eventually breaks down and emits methane . We bury so much organic waste that landfills are now the third-largest source  of climate-damaging methane emissions in the U.S.

But the environmental impacts of food waste don’t end there. By wasting food, we deplete precious resources, like water. In fact, agriculture in the U.S. accounts for about 80% to 90% of the nation’s water consumption . On top of that, when bad market conditions lead farmers to toss edible food aside or when sold foods go uneaten, all the resources that went into producing those crops are squandered. There’s also a massive economic downside to throwing away uneaten food, adding up to approximately $218 billion a year  in the U.S.

So, how did we start throwing out so much food? Well, several factors play into our increasing wastefulness. Here, we break down the components leading us to toss our food and offer solutions that can help solve our food waste problem."

Continue reading the article online -> https://www.clf.org/blog/why-we-waste-food/

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/CLF/status/1594767748000845833

Several factors play into our increasing wastefulness, but we have solutions to each of these problems. Photo: Shutterstock via CGstrein.

Did you know there is an App to help prevent food waste?

Brett Feldman (@BFeldmanEnergy) tweeted on Mon, Jan 17, 2022:

"App to prevent food waste launches in Providence"

Link to Boston Globe article (subscription maybe required) -> https://t.co/nROXMXMfGK

I did download the app and was pleased to find that the Fresh Start Market is listed. Hopefully, more businesses/food places will utilize this ... 

Too Good To Go - app screengrab

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/BFeldmanEnergy/status/1483074849237049348

Recap - Board of Health hears of vaccine clinic for 5-11 youth scheduled among other business items

Quick Recap:

• Board reorganizes with Chair remaining as Bridget Sweet and Jeff Harris approved as Vice-Chair both by 3-0 votes
• Multiple items of business covered with reports from inspector and nurse providing 'on the street' insights; intern work on food recovery program about to be piloted at Parmenter
• Vaccine clinic for the 5-11 youth group planned for Nov 10 and Dec 1, details being finalized on registration, flyer and media awareness about to begin
• Discussion on restoring virtual option for public participation, accepted for next meeting

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As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting live from the 3rd Floor Training Room

 

The Twitter hashtag can be found online  #boh1103

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23boh1103&src=typeahead_click 

 

Agenda document -  

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/boh_agenda_11032021.pdf 

 

• Ready for #boh1103 meeting, located in 3rd floor training room, no remote option for this session.
• Motion to accept meeting mins passes 3-0;
• 27 Winter St - discussion underway for possible demo including appropriate permits, etc. #boh1103 best est 60-90 days for work estimate, permits, etc. Include assessment of possible rodent issue as part of the assessment
• Motion to accept plan as outlined and follow up scheduled for Feb 2022, in case other progress/steps are delayed; passes 3-0  #boh1103
• Restructuring due to election, new board member (re-elected) - Nominate B Sweet to be chair, second; passes 3-0; J Harris motion to be vice chair, seconded, passes 3-0 #boh1103
• Update from inspector on recent actions, nursing update - flu clinic last week, home visits for those who missed due to the weather; 177 confirmed for Oct vs. 172 prior month #boh1103 contract tracking collaborative closing done after 11/29/21
• One active TB case here, person doing well. COVID clinic scheduled for next Weds (11/10) 2-6 PM 300 doses available #boh1103 Target for 5-11 year olds only. Heart safe research underway for machine checks
• Dean College has had only a few COVID cases and are dealing with them well. #boh1103 state pushing regionalization of health approach 
• Foundation training, 2 of 27 sets of training in progress; looking to become instructor for CPR
• 850 Summer st local upgrade of septic system which failed; motion to approve request based upon engineer req, second, passes 3-0
• PFAS  what is our strategy? Communication, education, mitigation... Info for residents proactively #boh1103
• Proposal for doc/info on PFAS to be prepared for next meeting for their review. Coordination of communication tools for incidents
• #boh1103 intern progress on food recovery diversion, piloting at Parmenter with staff first then students, before expanding further
• Granting funding for contact tracing, provided a work plan, etc. Still details to work out on implementation #boh1103 funding for 2 years - in citizen comment raised the accessibility issue and they will go hybrid for future
• Motion to adjourn, second, passes 3-0
• And by the way, that is all for tonight. The Town Council meeting was rescheduled to 11/10/21 and new agenda with updated remote link to be shared before Monday. #boh1103  catch you all next time!

Dfood ownload a copy of the flyer  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/news/youth_covid_vaccine_flyer.pdf

Recap - Board of Health