Redirecting otherwise wasted meals towards those struggling with food security (interview with winston chiu of rethink food nyc)
Winston Chiu (@winstoncchiu) is the Culinary Director of Rethink Food NYC (@rethinkfood.nyc), a nonprofit organization working to recover nutritious excess food to provide low or no-cost meals to New York City families in need.
Winston graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education and started Bonbite Catering, a globally inspired, locally-sourced catering firm. He later became a partner at Little Tong Noodle Shop, specializing in mixian noodles from China’s Yunnan Province. He’s also spent countless hours developing the culinary arts curriculum for the Brooklyn S.T.E.A.M. Center, an innovative business-focused public school.
In this podcast episode, Winston sheds light on the relationship between food waste, marketing, and consumer perceptions of food; how we can implement and scale the solution of connecting food waste from restaurants and supermarkets, to those in need who currently live with food insecurity; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Winston and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
“At Rethink Food NYC, we have an environment where we challenge our cooks and employees to be as creative as possible by limiting the resources.”
If you feel inspired by this episode, please consider donating a gift of support of any amount today!
This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological balance, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On how Winston and his team manage an unpredictable supply of ingredients to create delicious meals:
"It's like opening your fridge at 2 o’clock in the morning and you're very hungry and you're trying to put the best meal together. I think that's where the best dishes come from—through creativity.
[At Rethink Food NYC] we have an environment where we challenge our cooks and employees to be as creative as possible by limiting the resources. And as we start stripping and taking away, you'll be surprised at how much more comes out.”
On the positive effects of addressing food waste and food insecurity:
"It means opportunity for those that are suffering from hunger everyday in the sense that they're not spending thoughts, time, or energy looking for the next meal.
They know that they have a nutritious meal to nourish themselves so that they can move on to the bigger things in life.”
On how the model of Rethink Food NYC can scale to make an even bigger impact:
"Our next step is to look at the bigger models and bigger players in the supply chain and say, how can we tap into your resources and pair it with a co-packer or distributer to produce what we need to distribute that to the areas and the people who need it most.
Certainly, our next phase in terms of thinking is to go bigger. The farmers and restaurants are good, but we know that there's so much more out there. What we're dealing with right now is a very small percentage of the pie.”
Final words of wisdom:
"Altruism is what keeps the world spinning.”
