Post-Harvest Food Waste Monitoring and Reduction at the UC Davis Student Farm

Main project image
TGIF logo image.
Project description:

The project monitors food waste at the Student Farm and develops new strategies to reduce food loss. Food waste at the Student Farm is viewed in a comprehensive manner (i.e. at various stages of the crop’s life cycle from seed to transplants to management during growth in the fields). Efforts to monitor and reduce food waste focuses on the post-harvest life of the crops, specifically at the storage units. This project stems from the idea that an increase in efficiency of handling and management of the produce in the coolers will a) prolong shelf life and b) increase awareness of all the produce stored in the coolers and the order of urgency in which they need to be removed and used. This is achieved by creating a practical inventory system accompanied by an info chart of relative post-harvest lifespans of different products. The info chart also specifies places where produce can be lost within the Student Farm harvest process, and provides tips to prevent those potential losses.

A walk-through video of a food loss and waste audit performed by the project leads can be viewed here

Location:
UC Davis Student Farm
Grant funding amount:
$1001-5000
Grant cycle:
Fall 2018
Project status:
Complete
Project leaders:
  • Xinyu Ma (Plant Sciences)
  • Sara Frederich (International Agricultural Development)
UN Sustainable Development Goals associated with project:
11-Sustainable cities and communities
12-Responsible consumption and production