EMIE “Unwasted Food Award” Bestowed On Pioneering Program

Vista, CA | Oct. 2017 — Vista Unified School District’s Nutrition Services department (aka WaveCrest Cafe), was recently honored with an EMIE Unwasted Food Award by the San Diego Food System Alliance as an emerging program in eliminating food waste.

Various award recipients, including, at left, SDFSA Executive Director Elly Brown with Vista Unified’s Director of Child Nutrition Services Jamie Phillips.

The 2017 EMIES Unwasted Food Awards honor businesses, organizations, and institutions with exemplary practices around food waste prevention and recovery. The EMIE Awards are designed to honor the legacy of Congressman Bill Emerson, sponsor of the 1996 Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which, in order to encourage food donation, protects donors from liability.

Vista Unified was one of three San Diego County school districts honored at the September 26th event, alongside the San Diego and Ramona Unified school districts. Other award recipients included Bradford Airport Logistics, the City of Chula Vista, UCSD Health, Feeding San Diego and the San Diego Rescue Mission. A full list of winners can be found at http://www.sdfsa.org/emies2017

“We are humbled and thrilled to be recognized by the San Diego Food System Alliance,” says Jamie Phillips, Director of Child Nutrition Services for Vista Unified School District. “This is a testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence that our team displays each and every day. We are working very intentionally to increase healthy food consumption at our schools, while also working to reduce or even eliminate food waste at our campuses. We’ve got lots more planned in these efforts, and this sort of recognition only serves to fuel our desire to improve.”

According to the latest research by the San Diego Hunger Coalition, 1 in 6 people (16%) and more than 1 in 5 children (22%) in San Diego County, are food insecure. This means that they “don’t always have enough food for an active, healthy life” (Hunger Coalition 2017). And yet, we waste so much food. In San Diego, it is estimated that we dispose of 600,000 tons of food to landfill each year.

San Diego Food System Alliance is working collaboratively with state and local government agencies, food establishments, food banks, and food pantries to catalyze efforts to reduce food waste and increase donation. The 2017 EMIE UnWasted Food Awards are an opportunity to honor and share this great work in our region. Details of award winners’ efforts can be found at http://www.sdfsa.org/emies2017

About the San Diego Food System Alliance: http://www.sdfsa.org/

The San Diego Food System Alliance is a coalition of organizations and individuals organized to affect positive change in the San Diego County’s local food system. Our mission is to develop and maintain an equitable, healthy and sustainable food system for the benefit of all people in San Diego County.