bug farming, any luck getting restaurant scraps?

[Vata Raven]

Just curious, has anyone attempted to get restaurant scraps for bug farming?

In turn, those bugs are used as chicken feed.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I've not tried restaurants, but I have worked with local food pantries to pick up "less than fresh" produce and out of code items. It saves them on disposal fees and keeps the waste out of the landfill.

 

[Vata Raven]

local food pantries

What would those be?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

What would those be?

I'm sure they're called different things in different places...food pantry, food bank, food assistance organization....help me out folks with other synonyms. Places that give food to people without enough food.

Many of these organizations reply on donations from supermarkets and other stores, and sometimes the things donated aren't entirely good, or go out of code before they can be distributed.

When food does go bad, they need to dispose of it. Instead of filling up the dumpster and sending it to the landfill, they're often happy to see it go to feed hungry animals.

Usually it's the smaller pantries, like those run out of churches or local senior centers, that are happier to work with a small chicken keeper.

 

[Vata Raven]

I'm sure they're called different things in different places...food pantry, food bank, food assistance organization....help me out folks with other synonyms. Places that give food to people without enough food.

Ooohhh, a food bank. We do have one of those around here.

I wasn't aware that they paid a fee to dispose of the food.

And I saw a video of a guy saying he just gets bags of garage from restaurants, but he tends to have to pick out the plastic and paper. But I guess you can avoid that by getting garbage from a place that doesn't use plastic utensils.

 

[nuthatched]

Bugs are a good treat but not a daily feed.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Ooohhh, a food bank. We do have one of those around here.

I wasn't aware that they paid a fee to dispose of the food.

And I saw a video of a guy saying he just gets bags of garage from restaurants, but he tends to have to pick out the plastic and paper. But I guess you can avoid that by getting garbage from a place that doesn't use plastic utensils.

Unfortunately, expired food is considered garbage by most people, and garbage goes into the dumpster. The more often the dumpster gets filled the more often it has to be emptied.

I started a relationship with a local food bank when I started bringing them extra eggs...then I mentioned that I'd take any expired food and things expanded from there.

The way I figure it, any food we can keep out of the waste stream and repurpose is a good thing.

And yes, any time you're dealing with recaptured food, trash getting mixed is is always a challenge. I'm sure plastic and metal cutlery is an issue with restaurants, in addition to plastic. Paper is probably less of an issue when composting or growing bugs.

 

[Vata Raven]

Unfortunately, expired food is considered garbage by most people, and garbage goes into the dumpster. The more often the dumpster gets filled the more often it has to be emptied.

Yeah, I understand that.

But you mentioned a disposal fee. Where you just talking about the monthly fee that's associated with the landfill, or something else?

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Yeah, I understand that.

But you mentioned a disposal fee. Where you just talking about the monthly fee that's associated with the landfill, or something else?

Yes, I was mostly referring to the fact that they probably have a dumpster that they pay to have emptied...probably once a week.

If they fill it up faster, they have to pay for an additional pickup. Food waste is heavy, too...and sometimes dumpster companies charge extra for "overweight".

Beyond helping them get rid of waste for "free", another big advantage is that food waste that gets composted or fed to animals breaks down with oxygen. Food waste in a landfill breaks down in the absence of oxygen, a process which creates methane...a very potent greenhouse gas that can cause environmental and health problems.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

I'll also add that if you do try this out - getting food scraps to grow bugs for your chickens - please let us know how it goes and share your experience. I think people would love to hear about it!