

Feeding Yolo and Beyond: Turning Food Waste into Food Security
The Issue

University Educators and Academics collaborate with local residents to develop nutritious recipes utilizing gleaned crops, food technology, and food bank staples.
What Has ANR Done?
The UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health spearheaded a collaborative effort to test the process of gleaning crop waste, preserving it, and then distributing it through the local food bank in consumer-friendly packaging. Under the coordination of the Family Huie organization, UC ANR provided expertise on community nutrition practices, dietary needs, preferences, and cultural customs in order to deliver palatable, nutrient dense, shelf-stable products to low-income families with young children.Household cooks with children under the age of five who utilize the Food Bank in four small rural towns (Madison, Arbuckle, Dunnigan, and Knights Landing) were invited to participate in the project. Eighty participants completed a survey on preferences. Participants were then asked to submit a recipe utilizing the selected crop products (canned, pickled, and dried tomatoes) and rice (an abundant ingredient at the food bank). Finalists were selected and invited to the UC Davis Food Innovation Lab to participate in a cooking competition to choose the winning recipes.
The Payoff
Community driven research and development led to increased food options for the food insecure
As a result of this project, local, primarily Latina women, contributed to the project, increasing the quality and acceptability of shelf-stable food products available through the Yolo Food Bank. Their inclusion resulted in the development of recipes that will increase the use of fruits and vegetables in home cooking during months when fresh produce is scarce. Additionally, this was a pilot project that was shown to be an effective model. Future funding will increase the variety used and will help to increase food security and nutrition.Clientele Testimonial
[What I enjoyed most about the event was]…”the networking with other community partners, cooking and taste-testing, especially enjoyed the information…”Contact
Supporting Unit:
UC CalFresh Nutrition Education ProgramMarcel Horowitz, 530-666-8722, mhorowitz@ucanr.edu
Sonia Fernandez, 530-666-8702, ssfernandez@ucanr.edu