Cook-off Challenge AimsTo End Food Waste Across the Globe

ST. CLOUD -- In an effort to end food waste across the globe, two local chefs put their culinary skills to the test Friday afternoon.

The Stop Food Waste campaign is a nationwide effort to provide a closer look at how we prepare our food and limit the habits of throwing the excess away.

Justin Newgaard is the Corporate Executive Chef for Morrison Healthcare. He says there are many ways to utilize parts of your food we typically think of as garbage.

"We were chatting earlier about broccoli. Only 10 percent of broccoli is used the rest is thrown away. If you take that broccoli stalk and grade it down, add it to your salad. It's little things like that where combat food waste."

A friendly cook-off was held at CentraCare South Point between the chefs, where each had to create a dish while minimizing their food waste.

Paul Ruszat is the Executive Chef at the St. Cloud Hospital. He says on average a household can throw hundreds of pounds of food away each year.

"I believe it's forty percent of all food is wasted and put into a landfill. Twenty percent of all the food we cook in our homes is put into a landfill."

The campaign's goal is to reduce food waste 25 percent by 2020. Newgaard says reducing food waste is something everyone can do, you just need to know what steps to take.

"More days like today not only help food costs, but our environment and sustainability."

Food from the event was donated to the Catholic Charities Food Drive.