catering

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31  Consider the catering practices at your church Green catering Catering is a big part in our churches especially for fund raising and during conferences. Catering is one of the things that affect the environment negatively. Going green is not just a trend, it should be a life style. Green/ eco-friendly catering should be the new norm. There are different ways in catering practices where we can make a difference, specifically with catering practices in church. Things to do: Offer more vegetarian/vegan dishes–  vegetable farming is a more sustainable practice than animal farming. Producing meat involves more land and water use than producing vegetables. Additionally animal farming produces large amounts of greenhouse gases. Incorporate a Seasonal Menu– this will encourage cooking the  freshest and tastiest produce available which will in essence cut down negative environment impact. This will also reduce the amount of resources needed to transport food and result in less greenhouse emissions Reduce Food Waste– Reducing food waste is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Here are a few ways to reduce food waste in your catering: Get creative and repurpose ingredients to make new dishes Donate leftovers from your event Take advantage of overripe fruits and vegetables by making sauces, stocks, breads, and desserts Create a compost pile for food that’s past the point of serving Create a Beverage Station– Instead of offering guests individual cans of soda or bottles of water, try setting up a beverage station instead. Take advantage of reusable beverage dispensers to limit your use of disposable plastics. Use reusable serving dishes and cutlery. Ask some of the team to bring plates and cutlery from home. Separate recyclable material from waste created– you can do this by clearly mark your recycling containers and all-purpose trash cans. With big conferences, consider the event as an educational one, so raise the visibility of the re-cycling team, put up posters, flash messages on the screens at lunch breaks. Make sure everybody knows this is a green conference and they will learn some new ideas Photo by Karine Monteiro from Pexels