Giving Thanks For Our Food 🥧
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Season 2: Episode 36 Description
In today’s episode: Thanksgiving is almost here and we are talking food! 😋 Correspondent Pamela Kirkland talks with Misfits Market about how to stop food waste. 🛒 Are you making pumpkin pie this week? 🥧 Correspondent Kenny Curtis is throwing pumpkins and telling us about the Punkin Chunkin event. 🗞️ In the news: 👹 A monster Reese's peanut butter cup and helping food pantries. ❤️ And test your pumpkin tossing knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources for the episode
The 18 Strangest "Sports" in the World (businessinsider.com)
Doug the ugly New Zealand potato could be world's biggest | AP News
US food banks struggle to feed hungry amid surging prices | AP News
Pumpkin kayaking voted world's weirdest sport | The Independent | The Independent
12ft | How Far Could You Paddle in a Pumpkin?
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:02
Many people are ready to give thanks over some good grub this week. Today we'll grab our forks and dig into some weird and wonderful Food Facts. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Tuesday, November 23rd and this is The Ten News.
Various Voices 0:21
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:28
As many families are getting ready to gather over a holiday meal this week, creating lots of delicious leftovers. It got us thinking about where our food comes from, and what happens to the leftover food at the grocery store. Ten News correspondent Pamela Kirkland sat down with a representative of Misfits Market, a grocery delivery service that's fighting food waste.
Pamela Kirkland 0:54
Food waste is a big deal in this country, especially around Thanksgiving, you eat and eat and eat. But a lot of that food can actually end up in the trash. In fact, about 30 to 40% of the country's food supply ends up going to waste each year. Some of it gets trashed simply because it's what you might call ugly. That's unbelievable. We wanted to talk to somebody who's trying to do something about food waste with ugly food. Holly Eagleson is Misfit Markets vice president of marketing. Holly, thanks so much for joining The Ten.
Holly 1:31
Happy to be here.
Pamela Kirkland 1:32
So we'll start with the easy question. What is Misfit Market?
Holly 1:37
We're an online grocery store that helps eliminate food waste by selling some items that might otherwise go to waste. An example of that might be apples that are kind of funny looking, there may be a little bit misshapen, not that kind of classic thing that you know everything that looks uniform in the grocery store, maybe some olive oil with a label upside down. We collect this food directly from farmers and really great food producers and we deliver it to people all across the country, which means even more people are able to get access to healthy fresh food they might not otherwise get access to.
Pamela Kirkland 2:09
And why would you want more people to learn to love the ugly fruits and veggies and other misprinted products that are out there?
Holly 2:18
Food waste is any food edible. But in our case with a product, it's not just edible, it's delicious and nutritious. But it could be not eaten or thrown away due to any kind of cosmetic reasons. And what I mean is like really surface stuff like maybe having a little blemish or something different shape or size and you're used to. And unfortunately in the US, that means that about a third of what is harvested from farms annually might go to waste because supermarkets don't like the way it looks. And this is really bad because it's not just you know Greek food that's really healthy and good for you. Farmers made up you know, a lot of hard work putting into harvesting that food and growing it. And if they can't sell it, they can't continue to produce more. But more importantly, almost one in six children around the US might not have enough food to eat this year. So we want to ensure that every kid has enough food and access to it. So we make this you know we collect it all together and make it easy to get. And by doing that we also help the planet too because when you produce food, it requires a lot of things you might not think about like water, which is a really precious resource of ours. So there's a lot of ways by if all we just changed the idea and the way we look at funny foods and think of them as a great thing that we want to consume. We want to be accepting of it can help the planet it can help your mom and dad's food budget and I can help you because you'll grow big and strong with these great foods.
Pamela Kirkland 3:41
Yeah, you may think of going to the grocery store with your parents in search of like you said that perfect shiny red apple, or I don't know maybe knocking on a watermelon to see if it's just ripe enough. Has it been hard to get people to start liking food that maybe doesn't look so nice or maybe isn't what you're used to looking for when you go grocery shopping?
Holly 4:04
That's a good question. You know you think it might be but when you get this and you go through it with your parents, you go online on your phone or on a computer and you pick out what you guys want together. When you get it at your door and open it it's kind of like Christmas together you get to celebrate the funny looking maybe the eggplant has a nose or there's a funny little arm on your carrot there and it feels almost like a Pet Fun misfit thing. Believe it or not, we have a ton of treats and chocolates and brownies and cookies and all those things that might be a little bit different. The packaging is off, or maybe they made too much of it when they were making it in the factory and we help them we even have this really cool upcycled Stroopwafel if you've never tried it so good. It's two pieces of European cookie together with caramel in the middle and when they make them they cut out the circular cookie-shaped a little bit like about 17% would go to waste. When they cut it away. We put that cookie that was leftover back in the batter and made a brand new cookie out of it, an upcycled cookie We have a lot of fun things like that in the store. But really, it's about getting you guys what you want every week what you eat your favorite things you like to have it’s dinner, lunchbox items, and making it really affordable to you. I know you guys learned about inflation and some of the price increases recently. It's happening everywhere. But we are still able to bring this really good quality food to you up to 40% less than you might spend in the grocery store.
Pamela Kirkland 5:24
I can't believe anyone would try to throw away part of a cookie that just feels wrong.
Holly 5:32
To me in a factory, let me tell you lifting it all myself.
Pamela Kirkland 5:35
Um, lastly, what would you just want kids to know about ugly food?
Holly 5:41
There's no such thing as ugly. Embrace the imperfections embrace something that's different. But then in general, you know, help your parents like let them know that you care about this stuff. And you can start to buy from companies like Misfits Market that save food that would otherwise be thrown away. I was saying before upcycling, there are a lot of companies that do really cool things with food and turn it into something different and new and exciting.
Pamela Kirkland 6:02
Awesome. Well, Holly, thank you so much. This has been really interesting and a really fun conversation.
Bethany Van Delft 6:15
Up next, we're going from the table to the farm. Ten News correspondent Kenny Curtis is here to tell us about the wild and wonderful world of pumpkin throwing. That's right, pumpkin throwing.
Kenny Curtis 6:28
You know, we talk a lot about sports, you're on The Ten we've covered some of the biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympics, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the World Cup, but being active and moving your body doesn't always have to happen on a large stage. Sometimes the best kind of sports is the kind you do in your backyard with your friends just for fun. And you got a lot of options to choose from right. I mean, some people play backyard soccer, some play tag, and some throw pumpkins. No way. Yeah, you heard me right. Pumpkin throwing competitions are quickly becoming the latest sports trend, especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner. Now the idea of pumpkin throwing grew in popularity after the emergence of a fall festival in Delaware, appropriately named Punkin Chunkin. Punkin Chunkin was one of the first organized competitions to see who could throw a pumpkin the farthest. And we're not just talking about who has the most arm strength here. This kind of throwing is on a whole nother level. Contestants build machines and contraptions that launch pumpkins 1,000s of feet. These machines come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles. They include catapults, air cannons, and tread shades. Those of those giant wooden contraption things that they used to use to throw boulders at castles during medieval times. It's up to each team to design the machine that they think will perform the best. Now the rules that pumpkin throwing competitions are pretty simple. All pumpkins must be a certain weight, usually between 8 and 10 pounds. They must remain intact until they hit the ground and no explosives are allowed. And all parts of the machine have to stay behind the firing line. Other than that, it's pretty much a free for all. At Punkin Chunkin, the current record holder used an air cannon to achieve a wild 4,438-foot launch. Wow. Now that's impressive. But the Punkin Chunkin competition actually comes from humble beginnings. The contest was created in 1986 in Delaware after two friends got into an argument over who could throw a pumpkin the furthest. Whatever. The event grew steadily every year and in 2002 It appeared on national television and inspired the creation of pumpkin throwing competitions all across the country. Unfortunately, Punkin Chunkin hasn't always run smoothly. All sports have injuries from time to time and apparently, pumpkin throwing is no exception. Throughout the years, several people have actually been injured during the competition from malfunctioning machines. It's been canceled several times in an attempt to make the event safer for participants and spectators and this year's competition was canceled due to a lack of land and covid precautions bummer But fret not. Just because the original festival is struggling doesn't mean pumpkin throwing is going away. Many farms and local communities have found safe ways to have pumpkin throwing competitions. These events are popping up all across the country. Now they might not be as elaborate as the original Punkin Chunkin festival but let's be honest, throwing a pumpkin is fun no matter what right.
Bethany Van Delft 9:42
Thanks for tossing that story our way Kenny. Now let's see what else is going on.
Bethany Van Delft 9:57
Last week, Reese is released the list Limited Edition pie for Thanksgiving that was essentially the biggest Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ever. It was nine inches wide and weighed 3.4 pounds, which is a lot of peanut butter. But don't get too excited the pie sold out in hours. This is an outrage. A couple in New Zealand found what might be the world's biggest potato in their garden, the giant spud weighed more than 17 pounds. That's like dog-sized. It might also be the only potato in the world with a name. The couple decided to call it Doug. Speak, Hi there. Unfortunately, many people in the United States rely on free food from food pantries to feed their families. But with grocery prices rising, many food pantries around the country are having a hard time keeping their shelves stocked. So now is a great time to donate or volunteer. Yes. Lucky you, it's...
Various Voices 11:03
What, what, what's the big idea? Trivia on The Ten.
Bethany Van Delft 11:31
We heard about Punkin Chunkin a pretty unusual sport played with pumpkins. But can you guess which of these other pumpkin sports is real? Is it a) pumpkin kayaking, b) pumpkin long jump, or c) pumpkin baseball? Did you guess it? The answer is pumpkin kayaking. In 1999, an official pumpkin kayak race was held in Nova Scotia, Canada, people raised giant carves out pumpkins by paddling them across a lake. This sport has grown and it's spread from Canada to the United States. And currently, the longest journey and a pumpkin kayak is 26 Miles peddled by Rick Swenson in 2016. Wow, maybe one of you Ten'ers out there will carve out a place for themselves in the pumpkin kayaking world records. So exciting. Times up, but before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is trying to make pumpkin basketball a thing and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Tessa Flannery, Adam Barnard and Nathalie Alonso. Pamela Kirkland and Kenny Curtis contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News.
