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Part 3: Celebrating Ugly Food

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Part 3f: Celebrating Ugly Food

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Why Celebrate Ugly Food?

What Is the Ugly Food Movement?

Project Timeline

Celebrating Ugly Food: Project Timeline/Marketing Plan

Two months in advance

Team planning meeting
Contact presentation prospects, assemble videos
First drafts of general media release, feature and backgrounder
Apply for Thrivent Action Team

One month in advance

Team meeting: confirm schedule, speakers
Send media release to monthly publications
Send invitation to area churches to participate/promote; church newsletter
Design, print bulletin inserts
Post to online community calendars; send PSA/general media release to media outlets
Begin weekly pulpit announcements, worship bulletin, fellowship hall table tents
Post to Facebook & email blast/pass-along

Month of events

Distribute feature/backgrounder to media outlets
Weekly event posts to Facebook & email blast/pass-along
Ugly Food Banquet

Month after events

Evaluation by Team

Media Releases

UglyFood

MEDIA RELEASE

Bethel Lutheran Church
295 Old County Rd.
Templeton, CA

Aug. 1, 2016
Release at Will

Bethel Lutheran Celebrates Ugly Food

August is Ugly Food Month at Bethel Lutheran, Templeton. Under the banner "Celebrate Ugly Food," members of Bethel are devoting Sunday worship and other times to learn more about food waste, especially in light of California's persistent drought. The month culminates on Aug. 28 with an Ugly Food Banquet. The public is welcome to all the events, which are free of charge.

"We've learned that 40% of food in America goes to waste! in fields and gardens; in homes, stores, restaurants and schools," said Amy Beveridge, Bethel's pastor.

"Our Community Connection Team is planning this series to help our members and the community see that imperfect produce is no less valuable, in fact, it may be more nutritious in some cases," she said.

"Each Sunday in August at our 9:30 a.m. worship we will have a different focus, sometimes with short videos and appropriate music. For the potluck banquet after worship on Aug. 28, members will offer dishes that include ugly food. We will have a special speaker for the banquet," she said.

"We expect these events to be fun as well as educational. One Sunday will include testimonials by members who are involved in agriculture about how they are dealing with drought. Another Sunday will focus on gleaning -- to harvest or collect leftover fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste -- thanks to GleanSLO, the gleaning arm of the San Luis Obispo County Food Bank. We agree with their motto: Rescuing nature's bounty for the benefit of our community," she said.

"We have learned much about food waste and global hunger through such resources as FutureOfFood.com, NatGeoFood.com, and the cover story of the March, 2016, National Geographic Magazine.

"Some of the videos that we will show include 'Thirsting for Justice' and 'Tossed Out: Food Waste in America' from public TV.

"We are sharing tips, such as carrying a reusable 'take home' container in our cars, which saves left-overs from our restaurant meals and keeps more single-use containers out of the landfill.

"We've seen headlines that Ugly Food Can Feed the World. We want to do our part. We want to reduce waste by celebrating Ugly Food!" she said.

Bethel is a congregation of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. Bethel worships Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at 295 Old County Rd., Templeton. All are welcome.

Bethel's 'little brick church' is the longest-continuously-serving Lutheran building in Southern Calif, serving North County for 128 years. Free nursery service is available for infants and toddlers. Call (805) 434-1329 for Bethel's Sunday School schedule. Visit Bethel Lutheran Church on Facebook. "Bethel" means "House of God." The ELCA motto is "God's Work. Our Hands."

EVENT SCHEDULE

LEARN. ACT. EAT.

August 7th

Gleaning, Harvesting & the Food Pantry
Guest Speaker: Emily Wilson from GleanSLO
Film: 'The Line'
Volunteer recruitment to go harvest for the Food Bank

August 14th

Evolving with the California Drought
Guest Speakers:
Rancher, Kathy Marquart
Winemaker, John Anderson
Film: 'Tossed Out: Food Waste in America'

August 21st

The Struggle for Clean Drinking Water in California
Guest Speaker: Paula Wansa
Film: 'Thirsty for Justice'

August 28th

Water: Source of Life
Film: Shorts from Lutheran World Relief
And an UGLY FOOD BANQUET featuring the culinary creativity of our congregation

END

Editors: For more information or interviews, contact Ugly Food Project coordinator Gerald Iversen at 805-400-0182. For a feature/backgrounder and graphics, visit http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/Bethel.html

FEATURE

July 7, 2016
Release at Will

Drought, Ugly Food and Church: A Month of Exploration

by Amy Beveridge

On Sunday, August 28th, Bethel Lutheran Church will be hosting an Ugly Food Banquet. The idea arose last summer in the long days of drought here in California. A few of us were talking about how farming practices were changing in our area: dry farming grapes, choosing new crops, and harvesting food that is imperfect in its appearance. I read an article on the NPR blog The Salt about pomegranate and response to drought. In growth under harsh conditions, the stress triggers antioxidant production. Fruit might be smaller, but it's just as healthy, if not more. So the ugliest food, the kind that never makes it to the grocer is actually the most nourishing to our bodies. And that was the spark that got me thinking and talking with others in the church. Faith practices across religious traditions are invested in healing and repairing our communities. And often, it is the ugly in our world that proves the most transformative. That along with my personal search to do something beyond showering in a bucket and watering my plants with dishwater during the drought has driven my curiosity in this project.

We have a team of people in the church who have built a month of activities, speakers, and volunteer opportunities around the phenomenon of Ugly Food. We will have this potluck challenging participants to prepare ugly foods. It doesn't necessarily mean people have to buy misshapen potatoes or harvest split fruits from the garden, although it could/will also mean being clever with old stuff in your fridge. A lot of folks in our community grew up in a generation when you used your stale bread and brown fruit for tasty desserts and we hope to learn from their creativity. Our hope is to grow awareness of eating as a spiritual practice, one that has positive impact for hungry families, drought-stricken land, and dirty air.

Bethel is a congregation of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the largest Lutheran denomination in the US. Bethel worships Sundays, 9:30 a.m. at 295 Old County Rd., in 'the little brick church in Templeton.' All are welcome.

Bethel is the longest-continuously-serving Lutheran church building in Southern Calif., serving North County for 128 years. Free nursery service is available for infants and toddlers. Call (805) 434-1329 for Bethel's Sunday School schedule. Visit Bethel Lutheran Church on Facebook. "Bethel" means "House of God." The motto of the ELCA is "God's Work. Our Hands."

Pull quote:

Our hope is to grow awareness of eating as a spiritual practice, one that has positive impact for hungry families, drought-stricken land, and dirty air.

Box:

Exploring the connection of faith & food in a time of drought
Every Sunday in August - 9:30 a.m.
All welcome. Bring a friend!
Speakers, film, music, worship, fun!
Ugly Food Banquet, Aug. 28
Bethel Lutheran Church
295 Old County Rd., Templeton
805/434-1329 * BLCTempleton.org * Facebook

-30-

Editor: a media release and graphic are available at http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/Bethel.html. For more information, interviews and photos, contact Pastor Amy Beverage at (805) 434-1329 or TempletonPastor@yahoo.com.

This article is covered by Creative Commons. You are welcome to publish it without attribution. It was written by The Rev. Amy Beveridge, pastor of Bethel Lutheran, Templeton, CA

BACKGROUNDER

Why Would a Church Organize an Ugly Food Project?

The idea came to them right at the same time. Inspiration! Amy Beverage, Pastor of Bethel Lutheran (ELCA), Templeton, and church member Gerald Iversen were planning events for the congregation's Community Connection Team. Besides traditional events, such as Fourth of July Parade, and fun events, such as their Beer & Hymns series in local restaurants, they wanted something of social relevance. Someone mentioned food waste and another asked, "Have you heard about ugly food?" "Yes!"

The Ugly Food Project moved quickly from a single event to a month-long series for August.

Iversen, a retired Associate in Ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is a rostered leader, as is Pastor Beveridge. He has spent much of his professional life battling waste. Raised on a cattle and grain ranch near Shandon and working for decades with the Lutheran Hunger Program, food waste is especially crucial to him.

"It's quite intolerable that 40% of food in America* goes to waste! -- in fields and gardens; in homes, stores, restaurants and schools," Iversen said.

"What fascinating to me," said Pastor Beveridge, "is that ugly produce may actually be healthier than pretty food. Some imperfect, cracked fruit, for example, contains more antioxidants."

"This fun, educational series for the public challenges Americans' unfortunate need for produce that's perfect in appearance. We will provide a hand-out to all participants summarizing the need for food safety and security, tips, resources, etc. We will have several speakers, presentations, skits, and short videos," she said.

"This is particularly relevant to this area during this time of drought. Though we are foolish to be wasteful anytime, it's particularly striking during our prolonged drought. Our drought helps us to empathize with people around the world who are hungry because of extreme weather conditions. We need to conserve water and food," she said.

"We're sold the line that we can afford and we are worth a lot of convenience. So we end up using a lot of single use items, such as plastic bags and styrofoam containers, all of which are harmful for the environment and condition us to be careless and thoughtless," Iversen said.

"Instead, we are focusing on gleaning -- harvesting and collecting leftover fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. We are partnering with GleanSLO to learn more about gleaning efforts in the county and to experience it ourselves," he said.

"This project is called Celebrating Ugly Food!" said Pastor Beveridge. "We are not being dreary or spreading guilt. We want to be creative, especially for our Ugly Food Banquet, to share food dishes that include ugly food. We're asking our members to provide a photo of the imperfect produce that they incorporated into their dish."

Members of the general public are welcome to all of the "Celebrating Ugly Food" events on the Sundays in August, all of which are free of charge. For a schedule of events, contact Iversen at 805-400-0182 or visit Bethel Lutheran on Facebook.

Bethel is a congregation of the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. Bethel worships Sundays at 9:30 a.m. at 295 Old County Rd., Templeton. All are welcome.

Bethel's 'little brick church' is the longest-continuously-serving Lutheran building in Southern Calif, serving North County for 128 years. Free nursery service is available for infants and toddlers. Call (805) 434-1329 for Bethel's Sunday School schedule. Visit Bethel Lutheran Church on Facebook. "Bethel" means "House of God." The ELCA motto is "God's Work. Our Hands."

END

Editors: For more information or interviews, contact Ugly Food Project coordinator Gerald Iversen at 805-400-0182. For a feature/backgrounder and graphics, visit http://simpleliving.startlogic.com/Bethel.html

Event Schedule

EVENT SCHEDULE

LEARN. ACT. EAT.

August 7th

Gleaning, Harvesting & the Food Pantry
Guest Speaker: Emily Wilson from GleanSLO
Film: 'The Line'
Volunteer recruitment to go harvest for the Food Bank

August 14th

Evolving with the California Drought
Guest Speakers:
Rancher, Kathy Marquart
Winemaker, John Anderson
Film: 'Tossed Out: Food Waste in America'

August 21st

The Struggle for Clean Drinking Water in California
Guest Speaker: Paula Wansa
Film: 'Thirsty for Justice: The Struggle for Clean Water'

August 28th

Water: Source of Life
Film: Shorts from Lutheran World Relief
And an UGLY FOOD BANQUET featuring the culinary creativity of our congregation

Samples

| Flier | Recipes | Schedule | Insert | Hand Out

Podcasts and Bonus Tracks

MORE Resources

Full Frame [Link TV]: Eradicating Hunger, includes segment at end on gleaning

SaveTheFood.com

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