NBCUniversal will announce Monday (April 20) that its ongoing “Green is Universal” initiative has made the theme of this year’s Earth Week campaign the elimination of food waste.
That can be an issue at theme parks and on studio sets, which is why the #NoFoodWasted campaign begins at home.
According to food-knowledgeable NBCU sources, last year NBCUniversal Film & TV Production donated 28,000 meals worth of recovered food, which is more than 35,000 pounds of food.
Universal Studios Orlando also says last year it diverted 594 tons of organic food material from the resort toward composing and away from landfills.
The food waste problem is a national, and a global, one. NBCU says that “according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the average American family spends more than $2,000 on groceries a year that are wasted” and that by cutting that waste by just 15%, that could feed 25 million hungry people.
NBCU will seek to drive home that point through television programming, digital and social media, and with custom green food trucks that will “dish information and complimentary waste-free meals” in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Miami, Fla., and Chicago.
The goal is to help consumers shop better, make food last longer, and find creative ways to spruce up leftovers.
Per usual, NBCU-owned shows and networks will feature green-themed programming throughout Green Week. For example, on Earth Day (April 22), MSNBC will air the U.S. TV premiere of award-winning documentary Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story, followed by a panel session moderated by MSNBC food correspondent and famed chef, Tom Colicchio.
