WASHINGTON, D.C. – Plate of the Union, a consumer-focused education campaign promoting healthy and affordable food, safe drinking water and smart food policy, announced a charity beer partnership with Atlas Brew Works and MOM’s Organic Market today. The beer will launch at the Savor Craft Beer Festival to raise awareness and reduce food waste.
The Rescue Brew beer is a delicious peach sour ale called Ugly and Stoned, representing the recovered stone fruits – peaches and plums – that are key ingredients in the beer. MOM’s donated unsold stone fruit for the cause.
“Rescue Brew was a project with which we had to get involved!” said Lisa de Lima, MOM’s VP of Produce & Grocery. “Food waste is the largest component of landfills and produces 113 million tons of greenhouse gases each year. By diverting it from the landfill by either donating it to charitable organizations, or getting creative through a project like Rescue Brew, we can further MOM’s purpose to protect and restore the environment while hopefully motivating others to also address food waste.”
Atlas Brew Works offered its brewery and taps to create and serve the beer. This is the first charity beer of its kind to be promoted at Savor Craft Beer Festival.
“Atlas Brew Works is honored to produce our first charity beer with Plate of the Union and MOM’s,” said Justin Cox, Atlas Brew Works Founder and CEO. “Food waste is a huge problem that hurts the economy, our environment and our people. Our delicious beer demonstrates that there are creative ways of recovering food from going to waste in this country.”
Food waste reduction is one of the pillars of the Plate of the Union campaign, which presses policymakers in Washington and consumers to make this issue a priority in the next farm bill.
“We are excited to be partnering with Atlas and MOM’s Organic Market at Savor,” said Ken Cook, president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group and board chair of Food Policy Action and Food Policy Action Education Fund. “Food waste reduction can generate thousands of new jobs, bolster the economy, and divert millions of tons of wasted food from landfills and on-farm losses into the hands of food banks working to feed struggling families. In the richest country on earth, there is no excuse for a single American to go hungry, and taking steps to dramatically throttle back food waste is one way to combat hunger.”
“Reducing food waste today can greatly improve our food system tomorrow,” said Willy Ritch, executive director of Food Policy Action Education Fund. “We hope this Rescue Brew series catches on here at Savor and across the country to grab the attention of brewers, consumers and our elected leaders in Washington to help reduce food waste.”
Rescue Brew: Rescue a peach, drink a brew
Did you know that 40% of food in the U.S. ends up in landfills?! We partnered with Atlas Brew Works and MOM's Organic Market to raise awareness around the issue of food waste as part of our Plate of the Union Campaign with Food Policy Action: http://www.plateoftheunion.com/ "Food waste being such a large issue in the US we thought we could use our power of beer to bring some attention to the issue and hopefully get it out in the forefront." – Justin Cox, Founder & CEO, Atlas Brew Works.
Posted by Environmental Working Group on Wednesday, May 24, 2017
A staggering 40 percent of the food produced in the U.S. is never consumed, with Americans throwing out the equivalent to $218 billion dollars a year in food waste. Plate of the Union views this challenge as a call for all Americans to do better, and is working with small businesses, producers, and consumers across the country to help raise awareness and promote a smart approach to food waste reduction. The Rescue Brew promotion urges the public to help drive more solutions and market changes in food waste reduction ahead of the 2018 Farm Bill. The Plate of the Union campaign believes that food and farm policies can and should work in tandem to fight hunger and food insecurity, revitalize land and reduce food waste, grow more organic food, and invest in clean water and healthy animals. Over the next year, the campaign will be holding events nationwide to make sure Congress gets the message that it’s time to make big changes to America’s food system.
The Rescue Brew Ugly and Stoned beer will be available on draft after the Savor Craft Beer Festival at the following locations in the Washington metropolitan area:
- Glen’s Garden Market – Dupont Circle, D.C.
- Glen’s Garden Market – Shaw, D.C.
- The Partisan – Penn Quarter, D.C.
- Brookland Pint – Brookland, D.C.
- Meridian Pint – Columbia Heights, D.C.
- Jaleo – Gallery Place, D.C.
- MOM’s Organic Market – Arlington, Va.
- Rustico – Alexandria, Va.
- Rustico – Ballston, Va.
- Jaleo – Crystal City, Va.
- B Side – Fairfax, Va.
- Jaleo – Bethesda, Md.
- Owen’s Ordinary – Bethesda, Md.
- Town Center Market – Riverdale, Md.
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FPA-EF: Food Policy Action Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization that is a separate sister organization of Food Policy Action. The mission of FPA-EF is to provide a platform for public education and engagement on the impacts of federal policy on the food system.
EWG: The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. EWG’s mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment.
Atlas Brew Works: Atlas Brew Works locally produces solar powered craft beer in its Ivy City production facility in Northeast D.C. Atlas draft and canned beer is available in bars, restaurants and stores in the District, Northern Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee. The brewery Tap Room is open seven days a week for flights, pints and tours.
MOM’s Organic Market: Founded in 1987, MOM’s has grown to become the mid-Atlantic region’s premier chain of family owned and operated organic grocery stores. MOM’s purpose is to protect and restore the environment.