26 min
032: Crafty Ways to Curb Kitchen Food Waste with Alison Mountford Essential Ingredients Podcast
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- Nutrition
“Your cauliflower is not going to save nor destroy the world. But as we all make these decisions all the time and we scale, it can add up.” —Alison Mountford
The relationship between home cooking and reducing food waste extends deeper than just being a simple solution. It’s about making conscious, constant decisions that influence both our health and our planet. Reinventing our kitchen practices could not only help us savor healthy, home-cooked meals but also contribute to a zero-food-waste lifestyle.
Founded by Alison Mountford, Ends+Stems, a meal planning service, aims to reduce household food waste and combat climate change. She leverages her 15-year career as a professional chef and entrepreneur to alleviate the stress of weeknight dinners and food waste. Alison's mission centers around reviving home cooking and supporting environmental sustainability.
Listen in as Justine and Alison answer intriguing questions around food waste namely, How can we use our expertise to contribute to shifts in the food system? Do individual efforts truly make a difference? How can social media help us amplify our impact? What is the proper way to store low-moisture vegetables such as cauliflower and asparagus as opposed to high-moisture vegetables such as lettuce and celery? Lastly, if we find ourselves generating food waste, does it mean we failed?
Meet Alison:
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 turned 15 years of professional chef and entrepreneurial experience into a solution to help eliminate both weeknight dinner stress and food waste in one clever step.
Alison is a passionate problem solver and approachable leader with a dual vision; to get households cooking again and to save the planet. Before building Ends+Stems, Alison founded Square Meals in 2005, one of San Francisco’s first prepared meal delivery companies. Square Meals was the first to market and helped define the trend of chef-prepared meals delivered to your door.
For 10 years, Alison grew Square Meals into a successful cafe and catering company and had the opportunity to cook for celebrities, politicians, and many influential companies. After selling Square Meals, Alison had a short stint as Procurement Director for a food tech company, solidifying her passion for reducing food waste.
Alison has been named a Rubicon Waste Fit Champion, was a finalist for the Spoon Tech Startup Showcase, has appeared on many podcasts and radio shows, and works as a food waste consultant.
Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Pinterest
Connect with NextGen Purpose:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
Episode Highlights:
00:48 Reducing Food Waste as a Cook
03:26 Using Your Expertise to Create Change
07:07 Do Individual Actions Matter?
12:37 Leveraging TikTok
17:52 Low Moisture vs High Moisture Vegetables
20:44 Look Forward
“Your cauliflower is not going to save nor destroy the world. But as we all make these decisions all the time and we scale, it can add up.” —Alison Mountford
The relationship between home cooking and reducing food waste extends deeper than just being a simple solution. It’s about making conscious, constant decisions that influence both our health and our planet. Reinventing our kitchen practices could not only help us savor healthy, home-cooked meals but also contribute to a zero-food-waste lifestyle.
Founded by Alison Mountford, Ends+Stems, a meal planning service, aims to reduce household food waste and combat climate change. She leverages her 15-year career as a professional chef and entrepreneur to alleviate the stress of weeknight dinners and food waste. Alison's mission centers around reviving home cooking and supporting environmental sustainability.
Listen in as Justine and Alison answer intriguing questions around food waste namely, How can we use our expertise to contribute to shifts in the food system? Do individual efforts truly make a difference? How can social media help us amplify our impact? What is the proper way to store low-moisture vegetables such as cauliflower and asparagus as opposed to high-moisture vegetables such as lettuce and celery? Lastly, if we find ourselves generating food waste, does it mean we failed?
Meet Alison:
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 turned 15 years of professional chef and entrepreneurial experience into a solution to help eliminate both weeknight dinner stress and food waste in one clever step.
Alison is a passionate problem solver and approachable leader with a dual vision; to get households cooking again and to save the planet. Before building Ends+Stems, Alison founded Square Meals in 2005, one of San Francisco’s first prepared meal delivery companies. Square Meals was the first to market and helped define the trend of chef-prepared meals delivered to your door.
For 10 years, Alison grew Square Meals into a successful cafe and catering company and had the opportunity to cook for celebrities, politicians, and many influential companies. After selling Square Meals, Alison had a short stint as Procurement Director for a food tech company, solidifying her passion for reducing food waste.
Alison has been named a Rubicon Waste Fit Champion, was a finalist for the Spoon Tech Startup Showcase, has appeared on many podcasts and radio shows, and works as a food waste consultant.
Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Pinterest
Connect with NextGen Purpose:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
Episode Highlights:
00:48 Reducing Food Waste as a Cook
03:26 Using Your Expertise to Create Change
07:07 Do Individual Actions Matter?
12:37 Leveraging TikTok
17:52 Low Moisture vs High Moisture Vegetables
20:44 Look Forward
26 min