Lent and ‘Laudato Si’’: Burnsville parish connects fasting, long-range solutions to food waste

“Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” The sixth chapter of the Gospel of John records that Jesus spoke those words to his disciples after the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Those words are striking a special chord this Lent with parishioners of Risen Savior in Burnsville, as the parish’s Environmental Concerns Committee, with about 10 members, focuses on reducing food waste as a matter of justice and an aspect of fasting, an important pillar of Lent along with prayer and almsgiving.

Reducing food waste is “a way to be in solidarity with the poor” while uniting with the broader realm of creation, said Grace Koleczek, a parish staff member who’s led the Environmental Concerns Committee since summer 2019.

The verse from John’s Gospel was used during the closing prayer at a gathering open to parishioners March 7, in the first week of Lent, that included watching a film, “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story.” About 25 people participated; parishioners had also been invited by the committee to watch the 2014 film online, where it can be streamed on YouTube.

The committee, which usually meets monthly, also is placing articles in the parish bulletin connecting Lent to environmental justice, specifically through food habits. The March 6 bulletin included tips for buying only what is certain to be consumed, as one way to avoid purchasing too much. The bulletin offered advice for ordering smaller portions at restaurants; freezing food for another meal; supporting businesses, such as Second Harvest, that serve people in need; and composting to keep inedible scraps out of landfills.

The 73-minute film features a young couple who want to reduce food waste from farms and retail stores. They challenge themselves to live six months on food they find discarded in commercial dumpsters or that stores plan to toss out. They find enough food for themselves and even more to give to others. Film footage of their dumpster harvests include dozens of packages of hummus, canned and packaged foods, fruit, vegetables and boxes of chocolate bars.

Participants discussed the film afterward in small groups and large, including what in the film made an impression and ideas for changing food habits.

Parishioner Louise Seigworth, who joined the committee earlier this year, said at the gathering that she has become increasingly concerned about the environment. She has started organic recycling at home, her family purchased a hybrid vehicle, and last year they installed solar panels.

“I’m trying to put into practice my beliefs on how we need to be good stewards of our home, the Earth,” Seigworth said. “When I saw that our church had an environmental concerns committee, I thought, ‘Hey, this really aligns with my passions and my beliefs, and I want to participate and see how I can contribute to the group.’”

Adam Fitzpatrick, social mission outreach coordinator at the Center for Mission in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said Risen Savior landed on a worthy project. Food waste goes against Catholic social teaching because “it’s wasting resources that we’ve been given that could be shared and distributed more equally among all members of creation,” he said.

“I think food waste is an important topic to be thinking about in the course of Lent because we think about the importance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving,” Fitzpatrick said. “And really, what that draws us to is attention to … our own appetites … and what is necessary versus what might be over and beyond what we really need. I think it’s important for us, when we’re reflecting on ourselves and God as present through the gifts that we receive, that we understand the importance of ‘enough.’”

Knowing the difference between needs and wants can set people up to use their resources differently in almsgiving, Fitzpatrick said. “You can set up more resources for giving if you feel like you need fewer things for your own self-fulfillment or even for the fulfillment of the community,” he said.

Fitzpatrick recalled the words “whenever food is thrown out, it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor,” from Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for our Common Home.”

“I think the overall message … is to minimize waste, is to be better stewards of the environment,” he said. A program on food waste is “very in line with the pope’s thoughts on conversion, about being able to take that next step forward to move ourselves into greater holiness.”

Koleczek said the encyclical provides language directly linking care for creation with the Catholic faith. “That’s how this committee kind of came to life,” she said, “through reading, discussing and praying with (Laudato Si’).”

A previous small group at Risen Savior led prayers and conversations about the encyclical. An earlier parish “green team” installed a butterfly garden with native plants in front of the church that continues to be maintained. At a March 20 Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast, committee members will explain parish recycling, including where to place items so compostable items don’t end up in the trash or in recycling containers, Koleczek said.

God gives people agency, choice and intellect to use resources well and to be mindful not only of the poor, but of generations to come, she said.

People can take the initiative, she said, and declare: “I can be part of a solution here.”

---

REDUCE FOOD WASTE

• Learn to recycle and compost (check with your county)
• Recycle paper and other products at work
• Purchase “imperfect” groceries (imperfectfoods.com)
• Buy local, such as farmers’ markets and CSAs (community-supported agriculture)
• Use leftovers, plan parties and other activities to avoid food waste (savethefood.com)

— Environmental Concerns Committee, Risen Savior, Burnsville