Blue Zones Project and Partners Give New Life to Food Waste

An innovative partnership is helping turn produce waste into something fruitful. Blue Zones Project Fort Worth, a family-owned grocery retailer, and a local recycling service are working together on the Culled Produce Recovery Project to benefit area families and farmers. The program is supported by Blue Zones Project and made possible with the help of G.E. Foodland Inc., the parent company of Elrod’s Cost Plus and Foodland Markets.

Every day, fruits and vegetables are pulled from the shelves of grocery stores and thrown into the trash. Some, although perfectly safe and edible, are rotated out for fresher stock, while other items might be overripe or damaged. As a result, thousands of pounds of food waste fill local landfills. Now, some of that unsold produce is getting a second life.

Launched in 2020, the Culled Produce Recovery Project began when Blue Zones Project partnered with G.E. Foodland to supply organic materials to urban farmers. At first, one or two farmers picked up discarded produce from participating stores, but as interest grew, Blue Zones Project expanded efforts by bringing in Compost Carpool, a local company with a unique mission for transporting food waste and other recyclable items. In a 12-week period alone in late 2021, the effort diverted more than 31,000 pounds of produce from two G.E. Foodland locations—the Elrod’s Cost Plus Supermarket, 1524 NW 25^th St. in Fort Worth, and the Forest Hills Foodland Market at 3320 Mansfield Hwy.— and delivered it to area farms and school pantries. In addition, two area farms, Conundrum Farms and Akachi Ranch, work directly with the Foodland Inc. on South Ayers Avenue to access compostable produce.

“Access to nutritious foods is an important part of making Fort Worth one of the healthiest cities in the nation,” said Brenda Patton, policy director for Blue Zones Project Fort Worth. “With the help of some dedicated community partners, we’re creating a more resilient and sustainable food system that helps reduce wasted food while supporting urban farms and putting more fresh fruit and vegetables into the hands of our community.”

The project has the added benefit of helping the City of Fort Worth manage a critical environmental issue. According to the city’s Solid Waste Plan, 30 percent of Fort Worth’s garbage comes from commercial and residential food waste.

“With less than 20 years of airspace left at the city’s landfill, it is crucial that we all reduce our waste generation and divert materials away from the landfill that can be either re-used, recycled, mulched, or composted,” said Joao Pimentel, senior planner in the Code Compliance Department for Fort Worth’s Solid Waste Services Division. “Blue Zones Project is and has been instrumental in helping us divert wasted food from the city’s landfill and put it to excellent use.”

How It Works 

Elrod’s Cost Plus and Foodland employees at participating stores place unsold produce in 65-gallon bins for once-a-week pickup. Edible fruits and vegetables are sorted out to help stock school pantries at Christene C. Moss Elementary and Oakhurst Elementary schools. Blue Zones Project supports nine pantry locations within Fort Worth ISD schools and community centers. Each pantry offers free, nutritious grocery items, along with recipes, workshops, and nutrition-based classes.

Melissa and John Pringle of Compost Carpool

Fruits and vegetables that are past their prime are also put to good use. Compost Carpool makes regular drop offs to Fort Worth growers, including Opal’s Farm and Mind Your Garden Urban Farm, which use the food waste to produce rich mulch that can then cultivate a new crop of fruits and vegetables.

“Blue Zones Project brought everyone together and is creating new avenues for fresh fruits and vegetables in the community,” said Melissa Pringle, founder of Compost Carpool. “And this project has a full circle of benefits. There’s less organic material in our landfills, giving us all a healthier environment. And farmers are naturally improving their soil on a bigger scale without worrying about how to find compost materials.”

The logistics of managing food waste is a burden that many grocers aren’t willing to manage, noted Patton. “G.E. Foodland is really paving the way for their industry, demonstrating that grocery stores can play a very important part in combating waste and improving access to fresh, affordable, healthy food.”

That’s a role G.E. Foodland takes seriously. “We’re committed to doing whatever we can to better the lives of the people in our community and the environment,” explained Julia Johnson, G.E. Foodland Inc. marketing director. “Blue Zones Project has been a great partner for us over the years. This is another initiative that lines up with Foodland’s values and shows what we can do when we work together.”

Fertile Soil for New Crops 

Urban farms serve an important role in providing fresh, local produce to the community, and farmers like Steven and Ursula Nunez are grateful for the support. The founders of Mind Your Garden on Fort Worth’s East Side get between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds of compostable produce delivered to their farm every week.

Mind Your Garden – Ursula and Steven Nunez, founders

“It’s a huge benefit, because that’s a lot of organic matter we can use to create compost instead of having to purchase that soil from an off-site location—where you don’t always know the quality,” said Steven Nunez. “We’ve been able to create about five or six terraces of beds.”

“Our goal is to grow and provide food for our neighbors and residents and then have them come learn how to grow their own food,” added Ursula Nunez. “We’re also teaching people about the nutritional aspects of the food that we’re growing. The Culled Produce Recovery Project allows us to focus on farming and educating others.”

Making healthy choices easier throughout the community is the overriding mission of Blue Zones Project, which is expanding its work under the umbrella of North Texas Healthy Communities—the nonprofit outreach arm of Texas Health Resources. The initiative continues to make healthy choices easier, with a focus on making fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable and accessible for neighborhoods and families in need.

“Making sure Fort Worth residents have equitable access to healthy foods was a priority before the pandemic, and now it’s more important than ever,” said Matt Dufrene, vice president of Blue Zones Project Fort Worth. “Fresh produce that was once destined for the landfill is finding new life, and ultimately this and other programs we are working on are allowing Fort Worth residents to eat in a way that supports longer, better lives.”

The City of Fort Worth recognized the Culled Produce Recovery Project in its most recent Environmental Excellence Awards, among strategies that reduce solid waste and innovate recycling. Dufrene said Blue Zones Project hopes to continue and expand the effort by getting more grocers and farmers involved.

Compost Carpool Truck

Other ways the Blue Zones Project team has helped improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables include working with the city on policy changes to support urban farming by improving local ordinances to remove barriers for neighborhood farmers markets. Efforts also included doubling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on fresh produce at Cowtown Farmers Market and several G.E. Foodland stores; and supporting urban farmers to increase access to locally grown produce. Learn about additional food access efforts at LiveLongFortWorth.com.

About Blue Zones Project 

Blue Zones Project is led by Texas Health Resources under the umbrella of North Texas Healthy Communities and partners with businesses, schools, community leaders, and residents to support longer, better lives. Since 2015, more than 95,000 people and 367 groups and organizations have worked together to improve well-being. Fort Worth is the nation’s largest certified Blue Zones Community. The American Hospital Association and its partners highlighted Blue Zones Project in presenting Texas Health Resources the 2022 Foster G. McGaw Prize, which recognizes U.S. health care organizations committed to community health and well-being.