New Just Food program aims to cut down on food waste through repurposed, ready-to-eat meal distribution

photo by: Contributed

Some examples of the ready-to-eat meals Just Food has been distributing as part of its new food waste reduction program are pictured. Since March, the program has turned 4,608 pounds of reclaimed food into more than 5,000 pounds of meals to be distributed to those in need.

Since March, a new program from Just Food has helped save thousands of pounds of nearly expired food, turning items that otherwise would have been wasted into nutritious, ready-to-eat meals.

The food bank brought on Latchkey Deli owner Chetan Michie as its first sourcing and production manager in March, and since then he’s helped to turn 4,608 pounds of food into more than 5,000 pounds of meals to be distributed to those in need.

Michie told the Journal-World Friday that when he was first approached to take on the role, he felt it would be a great fit given his years in the service industry. He was asked to pilot the program with the goal of curbing food waste.

“A lot of the time, we’re getting in donations of stuff that only has 48 to 72 hours on it before it goes bad,” Michie said. “So by applying cooking or freezing or preserving of some sort, we’re able to stabilize those things and basically increase the availability of food to our clients.”

Using those methods, Michie said he hasn’t wasted a single pound of reclaimed food to date, with meals being distributed within 24 to 48 hours after they’re cooked.

The other goal, Michie said, is to increase the availability of ready-to-eat food, largely for folks who don’t have the ability to cook for themselves. Many ready-to-eat meals from other sources aren’t as nutritious, and Michie said a significant population of Just Food clients are living with conditions that have special dietary considerations, such as diabetes, so trying to serve that particular demographic is another focus.

Since March, Michie said Just Food has been making use of the Culinary Commons, a community incubator kitchen at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, to cook and package the meals.

“It’s been a real whirlwind, and it’s amazing to see things really start to coalesce, and working with people that share the same passion for food recovery and fighting against food insecurity,” Michie said. “I mean, our team is great, and the amount of resources that this community as a whole has given Just Food is humbling, to say the least.”

photo by: Contributed

Just Food Sourcing and Production Manager Chetan Michie

The next phase of the program will be sourcing a more permanent commissary kitchen that Just Food can utilize on a more regular basis. That’s because at the Culinary Commons, Just Food has had to navigate around other community members using the space; it’s completely booked during June and July, for example, so lately Michie said he’s been cooking out of Eudora High School’s instructional kitchen.

Renting a small kitchen for at least a couple of years will go a long way toward increasing production, Michie said.

“It was very gracious of Douglas County to give us the Culinary Commons for basically free, but we were sort of at the mercy of availability,” Michie said. “… It’s been a pretty ‘shooting from the hip’ kind of situation where we just try to get as much done in one day of production as we possibly can.”

Even early on, Michie said there are a number of goals he’d like to shoot for in the coming years. One of them is boosting the food reclamation avenues Just Food has at its disposal, which could include increasing the number of contacts it has with local grocery stores or even gas stations offering ready-to-eat food.

Another of Michie’s goals is a program where truck drivers can come to local food banks and drop off loads of food that otherwise would have been wasted because of refused orders or other clerical issues. There’s an existing pilot program like that in Indiana called Indy Food Drop, and Michie said he could see a program like that making a difference in the Kansas City metro area and, eventually, even nationwide.

In the more immediate future, Michie said Just Food can always use more volunteer help, not just for his program but in general.

“The need has never been greater; it really hasn’t,” Michie said. “The amount of households we’re serving every week are higher than they were during the pandemic at this point. Volunteerism, for Just Food, is really the beating heart of what we do.”

Those interested in volunteering can reach out to Michie directly at production@justfoodks.org or email volunteer@justfoodks.org.