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A Miracle in Every Overlooked Grain of Rice

Stop Food Waste Blog

A Miracle in Every Overlooked Grain of Rice

Mar 23, 2021

Stop Food Waste Blog

Food Shift’s Executive Director, Yuka Nagashima, explains her personal connection to curbing food waste as the outcome of an intentional relationship with the food she eats.

Her motivation to fully appreciate food stems from her consciousness of where her food comes from and the many people who have helped bring it to her bowl.

"When I was growing up in Japan, if I left grains of rice in my bowl, my father would say, “Mind your food,” which in Japanese literally means “Do it proper.” He reminded me that I should appreciate the sequence of events that went into this creation before me: from my mother who remembered to wash the rice a few hours before dinner so it had time to soak, to the rice monger who delivered the bag of rice to our house, all the way to those who grew it back on the farm."

 —Yuka Nagashima, Food Shift Executive Director

Today we invite you to sit for a moment with a meal you eat, and take a moment to imagine the journey its ingredients took to reach you. When we see the miracle in every overlooked grain or scrap, saving waste feels like a natural next step. 

Dive into Yuka’s full story in Earth Island Journal article, “Seeing a Miracle in Every Overlooked Grain of Rice”.

 

Learn more about Food Shift and their programs to rescue surplus food that would otherwise waste away in landfills and utilize it to fuel their social enterprise kitchen.