The Final Day

Today was the last day in class. We started out briefly discussing the prior day’s symposium and the film. Next we were visited by University of Washington T.A. and resident dumpster diver David Giles. I was fascinated by Giles’ presentation on the organization Food Not Bombs. Food Not Bombs is a worldwide group of independently operating cells that collect food for the homeless, prepare it and give it away for free. What sets Food Not Bombs apart from other organizations is that they gather all their food not from donations but from food that was either thrown away or was about to be thrown away. When food nears its expiration date it is often thrown out by the store even though it’s still good to eat. Food Not Bombs collects their food from these sources. I found the presentation eye opening that 9 dollar bottles of perfectly good juice was being thrown away just because of its packaged date. I don’t remember the number provided by David but the amount of food thrown away by Americans every year was astronomical. I really enjoyed the visit and would actually like to get involved in such an organization. It would allow you to help people and do so in a creative way.

Next we walked down to the kitchen and made a white bean soup. Much like the other soups there was prep time but it was all worth the wait. This soup was probably my favorite one so far. Perhaps it was because of the chicken stock but regardless, I enjoyed it. One of the groups also made kasha. I really enjoyed this dish as well as I could see it making a good side dish to a separate entrée.

I’m disappointed that today was the last class. I really enjoyed the class as its relevance to life is enormous. Eating is done three times a day and should not be over looked. While the class may not have changed all my food habits, it certainly forced me to stop and examine the food system. While the class is not designed to tell you to eat local and by organic, those two decisions now not only seem healthy but ethically correct.