On October 1, 2024, UMass Dining hosted a special event at Hampshire DC that spotlighted Spare Food Co–a company dedicated to upcycling food to create nutritious and delicious products from edible surplus. By repurposing perfectly good food, we can save water, energy, and reduce emissions from landfills.
Upcycled food is made from ingredients that would typically be discarded due to aesthetic imperfections or excess production. Spare Food Co. takes uneaten vegetable scraps and transforms them into the Spare Starter–a medley of upcycled veggies that’s perfect for adding a sustainable, plant-based element to a variety of dishes. Not only is it an innovative way to reduce food waste, but it also helps conserve valuable resources and reduce the environmental footprint of our food systems.
During the event, students enjoyed a special menu that featured the Spare Starter, which is made of 6 different vegetables, across a variety of dishes: loaded potatoes with Spare chili, Spare meatballs in tahini sauce, Spare soboro donburi, and Spare burgers.
This wide menu exposed students to the versatility and deliciousness of incorporating low-carbon food choices. Moving forward, ground beef dishes at Hampshire DC will include a 70% beef and 30% Spare Starter blend.
For the chance to win a sustainable swag bag, students also participated in a scavenger hunt to learn more about the environmental impacts of our food systems, and wrote down napkin ideas for ways they could practice sustainability.
This event with Spare Food Co. was a perfect demonstration of how simple, sustainable changes in our food choices and systems can make a big impact! If you are interested in trying Spare, keep an eye out for them on the Hampshire Menu, or visit Harvest Market to try their Spare whey tonic.