Food is the largest contributor to landfill waste in Omaha, yet one in five kids in our community may go to bed hungry every night. On October 4, Omaha became the third U.S. city to join the global campaign to shine a light on food waste with a Feeding the 5000 event. Five thousand lunches made entirely out of fresh food that would otherwise be wasted were served free to the public. Local chefs participating in Feeding the 5000 included: Clayton Chapman, chef/co-owner of the greenest restaurant in America, the Grey Plume; Brian O’Malley, executive director/ lead instructor, Metropolitan Community College Institute for the Culinary Arts; Kevin Newland, executive chef, The Salvation Army Kroc Center; and Leo Fascianella, founder/executive chef, Pasta Amore.
The event was organized by the Omaha non-profit Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue (www.savinggracefoodrescue.org), along with Feedback, the London-based organization behind the Feeding the 5000 campaign. Special thanks to Feeding the 5000 partners No More Empty Pots, The Salvation Army Kroc Center, Visiting Nurse Association’s Cooking Matters, Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 (Midwest), and Hunger Free Heartland.