Auditing Our Rice Waste

In line with food waste management, the Ateneo Food Safety and Nutrition Advisory Council (AFSNAC) and the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability(AIS) conducted a two-month Rice Waste Audit which began September 2019. The objective of the audit was to become more involved in addressing food waste by measuring the amount of rice wasted.

Participants collected food waste from food stalls and kiosks located around the Loyola Schools area including JSEC, Ebai’s Cafe and Pastry, Ateneo de Manila Multipurpose Cooperative Cafeteria, and the Blue and Gold Canteen. The two-month audit resulted in the collection of around 200kg of rice waste, and roughly the same amount of other food waste.

This Rice Waste Audit builds on an earlier talk about minimizing food waste, particularly, rice. On 19 March 2019, the Loyola Schools Ateneo Food Safety and Nutrition Advisory Council organized a talk entitled "Save the Grain." Joselito Sescon (Dept. of Economics, School of Social Sciences) discussed the current rice tariffication issue, while Abigail Favis (Ateneo Institute on Sustainability) talked about the socio-cultural dimension of rice waste among Ateneo Loyola Schools students. LS students also shared rice product innovations. The activity was attended by LS students, staff and administrators as well as cafeteria personnel.