On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:29:36 GMT, Donna Rose
wrote:

says...

I'd read that little is wasted in a commercial restaurant,
ie; vegetable scraps used to make a vegetable stock.
so...
snip

I work one evening a week in the kitchen of an organization similar to
Meals on Wheels that delivers meals to seniors, AIDs patients and others
who are house bound.

Last week we had six cases of broccoli to trim - they wanted to use the
florets for a vegetable dish of some sort.

I was absolutely horrified, however, when we were told just to toss the
stalks. Seriously, there could have been broccoli soup for literally
*hundreds*.

I am still so annoyed by this, that it's making me rethink my commitment
to them.

Don't. They need you. Wasted food is a scandal, but sometimes
transportation, storing, preprartion, and serving (not to mention
litigation) makes it easier for the home cook to be thrifty and
meticulous in a way a larger operation can't. Particularly when it
depends on random gifts of ingredients. Chopping off the florets for
salad or simple steaming is pretty quick and simple. Trimming the
bottoms and chopping the stems (I peel mine first), making a broth,
etc., is a lot more trouble. Perhaps you can figure out a practical
way for this kitchen to save scraps for a day or 2 and make soup a
feature.

(I'm always thinking 'compost' when throwing away any vegetable
material is mentioned, but that also involves transportation, labor,
separating compostable discards from others, etc.)