StopWaste has worked in close partnership with local chefs and food-focused organizations to share tips, recipes, and valuable information to help make the most of food while uplifting the community. Learn more about our chef partners and their valuable community work below.
Food Shift
Since 2012, Food Shift has been developing practical solutions to reduce wasted food, recovering food that would otherwise go to waste to nourish their neighbors throughout the Bay Area while providing jobs. They transform surplus food into opportunities, uplifting what they've learned as community wisdom and sharing solutions globally.
The Food Shift Seasonal Kitchen Guide, created in partnership with StopWaste, celebrates the bounty of nature, our resilience, and well-being by highlighting twelve produce items, readily available and affordable in Alameda County, in a calendar-style format. The recipe templates encourage flexibility with ingredients and processes to make the most of whatever you have at home.
18 Reasons
18 Reasons is a nonprofit cooking school on a mission to empower the community with the confidence and creativity needed to buy, cook, and eat good food every day. Through their Cooking Matters program, they empower thousands of food-insecure families in the Bay to stretch their food budgets while making healthier, delicious meals—putting nutritious food within reach.
Over multiple years of partnership, 18 Reasons community educators weave their expertise in diverse cultural cuisines to provide recipes and cooking tips that help us better maneuver our own kitchens to be more efficient and reduce food waste. Read more about their work in the community and get a recipe that stretches simple ingredients in Edible East Bay at the link below.
Project Open Hand
Project Open Hand is a Bay Area nonprofit that provides meals with love to older adults, adults living with disabilities, and people living with complex, chronic health conditions. In partnership with StopWaste, their knowledgeable nutritionists provided a range of healthy, nutritious recipes that also make the most of leftover and common ingredients. A favorite trick is using the last bits of peanut butter, honey, or in this case, yogurt, to make versatile sauces that can add extra flavor to any dish. Find the recipe for yogurt salad dressing below.
Berkeley Ecology Center Farmers' Market
The Berkeley Ecology Center is a nonprofit organization located in Berkeley, California that focuses on improving the health and the environmental impacts of urban residents by addressing critical issues through a model of education, demonstration, replication, and advocacy.
In partnership with StopWaste, the Ecology Center provides a series of seasonal live cooking demonstrations that highlight tips, tricks, recipes, and resources to reduce food waste at home with the support of beautiful, fresh market produce. The Farm Fresh Cooking to Prevent Food Waste Farmers Market Cooking Series covers topics from savvy meal planning and smart shopping to clever cooking techniques and proper food storage. Keep an eye on the Ecology Center's events calendar to make sure you catch the next one!
The Food Commonweal
Chef Sarah Germany is an East Oakland resident, chef, educator, and parent. Through her organization, The Food Commonweal, she works with local farmers and growers to make the most of surplus locally grown produce to supplement the cost of whole food meals. Her work as a chef, educator, and leader in the community, aims to reduce the mortality rate amongst East Oakland residents by reducing the growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other nutrition-related health crises.
Hear directly from Chef Sarah in this video and learn more about her work in the Edible East Bay article linked below.
Ends + Stems
Chef Alison Mountford is the Founder and CEO of Ends+Stems, a meal planning service designed to reduce household food waste and stop the effects of climate change. Alison provides meal planning tools, recipes, and inspiration in accessible ways to help eliminate both weeknight dinner stress and food waste in one clever step. She lent her experience and expertise to StopWaste as our first official Chef Partner, providing fun videos and blog posts to help us make most out of our food, save money, and make cooking easier. Read her blog post listing the 25 Ways to Reduce Food Waste at the link below.