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We’re educators, scientists and worm farmers with a passion for inspiring and empowering everyone to reduce food waste. We offer practical, user-friendly solutions for households, schools and communities.
40%
of food produced in the U.S. is wasted
1 in 7
people is food insecure
$218B
is spent on food waste each year in the U.S.
Food waste is everyone’s problem.
It occurs at every point in the food supply chain, from farms to consumers. If the problem belongs to all of us, it’s up to all of us to solve it.
Here’s the good news: the solutions are fun, manageable and scalable. Let’s get started – there’s no time to waste.
“We are grateful to Mindful Waste for helping us and teaching us how to conduct a food waste audit to kick off our composting program. Jennifer and Renee showed us how to sort three days’ worth of waste from our Café and Commons. This was a unique experience that very vividly showed students and staff how much of our waste is recyclable, compostable and reusable!”
– Kim Hankins, Director of Sustainability at McHenry County College
“People always say it doesn’t take a lot of people to promote a cause. Whenever I see the clipboard that has the total pounds of food saved and remember that a relatively small club in a middle school did that, I finally realize what that means.”
– Aaliyah Zaidi, Student at Prairie Middle School
“The food recovery program has not only made a positive impact on our community, but it has also opened our school’s mind to the reality of the condition of our planet.”
– Clara Davenport, Student at Prairie Middle School
“When Jennifer Kainz, of Mindful Waste, asked if Countryside would consider a food recovery program, I said, “Why wouldn’t we?!” It was just the kind of citizenship and responsibility-building activity that our Green Club and student body, in general, needed. Over the course of the past year our students have recovered over … pounds of food and milk that have supported families in need within our community.”
– Jennifer Barnabee, Former Principal at Countryside Elementary
“The food recovery program is an opportunity to change the environment and community. Everyday at school, I look at the amount of food that has been collected and I think to myself about the impact this program has made. I once read that the small things that you do now may seem small, but in the future you will look back to see that the small things were actually the big things. This program may only make a small change, but the fact of the matter is that it will change the environment that Prairie surrounds. I hope the world can contribute to making a similar change that will benefit the environment and community.”
– Shreeya Patel, Student at Prairie Middle School
“Renee Blue and Jennifer Kainz are a pure delight to work with! Their knowledge and positive attitudes make aiming for a “waste free” event both fun and very rewarding. As Chair of Ignite the Night held in Barrington Hills, I invited Mindful Waste to join Citizens for Conservation in making the event as environmentally friendly as possible. We had a couple of meetings, made a plan, did some smart shopping, and had a great event with over 500 people attending and only 6 pounds of waste going to the landfill! It was amazing! Not only did I learn a lot, but so did our attendees. There were many positive and appreciative comments. I highly recommend having Mindful Waste help you with having your event be an environmentally friendly experience.”
– Ginger Underwood, Citizens for Conservation