{"id":5491,"date":"2025-03-28T18:22:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T18:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.macrinabakery.com\/blog\/?p=5491"},"modified":"2025-03-28T18:22:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T18:22:44","slug":"reducing-food-waste-macrina-partners-with-pcc-and-farestart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.macrinabakery.com\/blog\/reducing-food-waste-macrina-partners-with-pcc-and-farestart\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing Food Waste: Macrina Partners with PCC and FareStart"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Food waste in the commercial food service industry is a massive issue, estimated at roughly $100 billion annually. At Macrina, we make every effort to reduce waste. Four years ago, Macrina, PCC, and FareStart began talking about a way to collaborate to reduce food waste and create a great new product. It\u2019s now in high demand, and customer feedback is excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cFareStart\u2019s Mighty Croutons are a great way to upcycle, turning perfectly fine unsold food into a really tasty product,\u201d says Leslie Mackie, Macrina\u2019s founder. \u201cAnd by providing a paid training ground, it benefits Farestart\u2019s mission to help people address the root causes of poverty and food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\n\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photos by Meryl Schenker [From PCC\u2019s\u00a0Sound Consumer<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farestart’s Mighty Croutons, A Recipe for Change<\/strong>
By Rebecca Denn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind every savory, crunchy FareStart<\/a> crouton is a partnership between three essential Northwest companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FareStart\u2019s \u201cMighty Croutons\u201d \u2014 originally available in PCC\u2019s salad bars, now packaged for home use and sold at all PCC stores<\/a> \u2014 are made with unsold loaves of Macrina bakery<\/a> bread, transformed into croutons in FareStart\u2019s Interbay kitchen. FareStart, a James Beard Award-winning nonprofit, is devoted to food security and to culinary job training for people dealing with poverty, homelessness and other employment barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of development and a pandemic interruption, the croutons became a delicious, paprika-and-marjoram-scented solution to several issues. The key challenge: \u201cThere\u2019s so much food waste out there but also so much hunger,\u201d said Corissa Helm, a FareStart marketing manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a Crouton<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Croutons are simple to make at one level: Cube crusty day-old bread, toss it in oil and spices, and bake until crunchy. Home bakers typically make croutons to avoid wasting leftover loaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leftover takes on a different scale at grocery stores, which try to generously stock bread and avoid disappointing shoppers with empty shelves \u2014 without wasting either money or food. Stocking bread is an imprecise day-to-day science that sometimes means extra loaves at the end of the day, especially with items like artisan breads that have a short shelf life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crouton idea was first baked up when\u00a0Leslie Mackie<\/a>, who founded Macrina in 1993 and saw it rise to countless national best-of bakery lists, met\u00a0Rachel Tefft<\/a>, PCC\u2019s manager of community food systems. They connected in 2019 at a\u00a0Seattle Public Utilities<\/a>\u00a0meeting devoted to reducing food waste.

To continue reading, click here.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food waste in the commercial food service industry is a massive issue, estimated at roughly $100 billion annually. At Macrina, we make every effort to reduce waste. 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