Feeding Westchester
Food waste is astronomical in the United States. Symptoms of inflammation and distress show up not only on the surface of our skin, but on our planet. How we care for ourselves & how we treat each other and how we care for the environment - it’s all connected.
“Starvation in the land of the plenty” strikes me in many personal ways - as a teacher preparing my students to navigate a world of complex environmental challenges, as a parent, recognizing the privilege I hold needing “not to worry” that my kids are going to bed hungry. As an empath, wanting to help get food where it is needed most in my community.
Food Waste 101: Food waste is unused food that gets tossed into the garbage from residents, restaurants, and grocery stores without a second thought. It builds up in our landfills and wreaks havoc on our environment.
Reduce food waste:
Take a Foodprint QUIZ and learn how your diet impacts the environment.
Freeze over-ripened bananas and fruits for smoothies, ice creams, or muddle berries with water and store them in ice cube trays for flavorful water in a pinch!
Shop every 3-4 days to avoid overbuying (or if your schedule doesn’t allow this, keep track of what you need each week).
Encourage your kids to help you hunt down “ugly” produce, which sadly gets tossed by grocery stores. Challenge your kids to a blindfolded taste test to prove that there is no difference in taste, no matter how wonky. We all have perfect imperfections, so let’s teach our kids to embrace nature's perfectly imperfect beauty.
We turned our love for experimenting with color into creating a kaleidoscope of vibrant soaps with toys inside. This stemmed from a traditional family project selling our fun-loving soaps to family and friends around the holiday season. We used the proceeds to buy canned goods for a food drive at Feeding Westchester, our local food bank in Westchester County. Nutritious food is our medicine, as well as our joy.
Sanse Soap Shop, “Wash Away Hunger” is a family service project that stemmed from a soap making experiment. With our love for science and experimenting, out of boredom on a rainy day, my boys opened a soap making kit (skipping over the directions) and began playing around with mixing and matching colors, ingredients, and adding toys to the soap molds. They came out so beautifully that we decided to sell them to family and friends to raise money for a school fundraiser for our local food pantry, Feeding Westchester, dubbed the “Souper Bowl.” Students are encouraged to bring in canned goods throughout the week leading up to the Super Bowl. Whichever team yields the most cans, wins the “souper bowl” a fun, creative way to align school spirit with service.
What began as a small project in the 2019-2020 school year, raising $150.00, doubled in sales in the 20-21 school year, raising $300.00! Sharing our passion for science by posting videos of our soap making process on social media grabbed the attention of many and our sales went through the roof! This 21-22 school year, we raised $1,019.00 which provided 1,067 meals to our neighbors in need.
We are thrilled to continue to partner in Feeding Westchester’s efforts to feed our neighbors in need and lead the community in the fight against hunger.
Collaboration with @feedingwestchester
#sansesoapshop #washawayhunger
