Earth Day is observed every year around the world on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. As a part of the community and corporate awareness, Outside2Inside was invited to participate in the Earth Day celebrations of Advantest Corporation that were held on April 22nd, 2019. Advantest Corporation is a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry, and a manufacturer of measuring instruments used in the design, production, and maintenance of electronic systems.
Outside2Inside was one among the 15 vendors participated in the event. We had set up a stall and displayed Food waste statistics in the US, Wonky produce, and Wonky fruit salads. Our goal for this Earth Day Event was to bring awareness to the employees of the Advantest about “Wonky produce” and how it contributes to the massive food waste in the US. “Wonky produce” are fruits or vegetables that are odd-shaped, discolored, asymmetrical but equally nutritious. One may think what Earth Day has to do with food waste reduction. Food waste ends up in landfills which emits methane, a greenhouse gas that affects our environment. And moreover, when food gets wasted, precious resources like water, soil, and human effort are also going to waste. Many don’t know about these facts and we at Outside2Inside wanted to bring awareness to the corporate citizens through this event.
Outside2Inside had recovered some wonky fruits and vegetables like apple, orange, squash, and carrot which would have been otherwise thrown away from the farms. This recovered produce was displayed in our stall. We also made a free giveaway fruit salad of apple and orange. When the employees visited our stall, we made them taste the “Wonky Fruit” salad and when asked about the taste, they said it was delicious. When the employees were informed that the salad was made from wonky apples and orange which would otherwise be thrown away, it shocked them. This brought awareness that even though some produce looks odd-shaped, it is as nutritious as the normal ones and made them realize that its the looks that make one not pick these “Wonky Produce” from the grocery stores. Many employees were interested in our stall and brought their friends as well to know more about wonky produce. We made ~150+ people aware of the wonky produce and made them as change agents to spread this awareness to their family by giving away the recovered wonky produce.
The event was a huge success and O2I accomplished the following:
- ~4 hours of volunteer involvement
- ~150+ people made self-aware about food waste
- ~70+ lbs. of wonky produce recovered from getting wasted
- ~100+ people fed with “Wonky Fruit” salad
This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our volunteers and we thank Advantest for giving us this opportunity to be a part of this good cause. Outside2Inside wishes to have many more partnerships with Advantest in the future.