MU Extension expands ‘Freeze It’ program to help reduce food waste in rural Missouri – KBIA

Report on the “Freeze It!” Program and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The University of Missouri Extension’s “Freeze It!” program is being expanded to address critical challenges in rural communities, directly aligning with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through a grant from the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the program will increase its capacity to teach families effective food management strategies, thereby reducing food waste, improving nutrition, and enhancing household economic stability.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The program’s objectives and outcomes demonstrate a significant contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a primary focus on the following goals:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: By teaching meal planning and food preservation, the program enhances food security and improves access to nutritious, home-cooked meals for families on tight budgets, addressing Target 2.1 (end hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious food) and Target 2.2 (end all forms of malnutrition).
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The core mission to reduce food waste directly supports Target 12.3, which aims to halve per capita global food waste at the consumer level by 2030.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The program promotes healthy eating habits and home cooking, contributing to the prevention of non-communicable diseases as outlined in Target 3.4.
• SDG 1: No Poverty: By enabling families to stretch their grocery budgets and save money, the initiative supports Target 1.2, which seeks to reduce the proportion of people living in poverty.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The program specifically targets rural areas, where access to health education and waste diversion programs is often limited, thereby addressing inequalities in access to resources and opportunities.

Program Implementation and Strategic Focus

A new grant facilitates the expansion of the “Freeze It!” program, doubling the number of sessions offered from four to eight and making them available free of charge. The strategic focus remains on rural Missouri communities, which face distinct challenges such as higher food costs and limited access to fresh groceries and nutrition education.

Curriculum and Measured Impact

The four-part educational series provides participants with practical skills and knowledge. The curriculum is structured around four key pillars:

1. Strategic Meal Planning
2. Efficient Cooking Techniques
3. Safe Food Freezing and Preservation
4. Comprehensive Food Literacy

Pilot sessions involving over 100 households have yielded measurable positive outcomes, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness in advancing SDG-related targets:

• Significant reductions in household food waste.
• Increased frequency of cooking and consuming meals at home.
• Reported improvements in healthy eating habits.
• Enhanced ability to manage and extend grocery budgets.

Conclusion

The “Freeze It!” program serves as a model for community-based interventions that simultaneously address environmental, social, and economic challenges. By empowering rural families with food literacy and effective meal management skills, the University of Missouri Extension is making a direct and measurable contribution to achieving a more sustainable and equitable future, in line with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article on the “Freeze It!” program connects to several Sustainable Development Goals by addressing interconnected issues of food security, health, education, and sustainable consumption, particularly in rural communities.

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  This goal is central to the article. The program aims to “improve access to healthy, home-cooked meals” and helps families “feed a family on a tight budget.” By teaching people how to make their groceries last longer, it directly addresses food security and improved nutrition for vulnerable populations, especially rural families who may have limited access to fresh groceries.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  The program’s focus on promoting “healthy, home-cooked meals” and providing “health education” directly supports SDG 3. By teaching nutrition and healthy cooking habits, it helps prevent diet-related health issues and promotes overall well-being, moving families away from less nutritious options like “ramen noodles and canned peas.”

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article highlights that the program is a “four-part series” that “teaches participants how to plan meals, cook efficiently and freeze food safely.” This focus on imparting practical knowledge and skills, referred to as “food literacy,” aligns with SDG 4’s aim to provide lifelong learning opportunities that equip people with skills for sustainable living.

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  A primary stated goal of the program is to “reduce food waste.” This directly addresses SDG 12, which focuses on sustainable consumption patterns. By teaching families how to freeze food and plan meals, the program helps reduce waste at the consumer level.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

The article’s content points to several specific targets within the identified SDGs.

1. Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food

   The program directly works towards this target by helping rural families on “tight budgets” to “improve access to healthy, home-cooked meals.” It provides strategies to ensure that the food they can afford is sufficient and lasts longer, enhancing their food security throughout the year.

2. Target 3.4: Reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being

   By providing “health education” and promoting “healthy, home-cooked meals,” the program contributes to the prevention aspect of this target. Improved nutrition is a key factor in preventing many non-communicable diseases. The article states the program’s goal is to “promote healthy, home-cooked meals,” which is a preventative health measure.

3. Target 4.7: Ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development

   The program is an educational initiative that teaches “planning, techniques and strategies” for sustainable lifestyles. By focusing on “effective meal management and food literacy,” it equips participants with the knowledge and skills to reduce waste and improve their health, which are key components of sustainable development education.

4. Target 12.3: Halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels

   This is the most explicit target addressed. The program’s primary goal is to “reduce food waste” at the household level. The article notes that pilot sessions have already “shown measurable reductions in household food waste,” directly contributing to the consumer-level aspect of this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article mentions and implies several quantitative and qualitative indicators that can be used to measure the program’s success and progress towards the SDG targets.

• Indicator for Target 12.3: Reduction in household food waste

  The article explicitly states that pilot sessions have “shown measurable reductions in household food waste.” This is a direct indicator for measuring progress on reducing consumer-level food waste.

• Indicators for Target 2.1 & 3.4: Changes in dietary habits and budget management

  The article provides qualitative indicators through participant reporting: “Participants reported cooking more meals at home, eating healthier and stretching their grocery budgets further.” These self-reported outcomes measure progress towards better nutrition, food access, and food security.

• Indicators for Target 4.7: Program reach and participation

  The article provides quantitative indicators of the program’s educational reach. These include:

  • The number of households reached: “Pilot sessions have reached more than 100 households across the state.”
  • The number of educational sessions offered: The grant will “double the number of sessions offered this year — from four to eight.”

  These metrics measure the dissemination of knowledge and skills related to sustainable practices.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: kbia.org