Going Halfsies

Written by Margret Aldrich

How many times have you ordered an entrée at a restaurant only to leave a pile of food on your plate, dump the remains into a doggie bag, or stagger out the door with your pants unbuttoned? The new program Halfsies hopes to cut portion sizes for a good cause.

Halfsies identifies three food-focused problems in the United States. 1) Oversized servings. Most restaurant portions here are 2-4 times the recommended serving sizes, which contributes to our epidemic of overweight Americans. And portion size is a problem that keeps growing: 20 years ago, two slices of pizza added up to 500 calories; today, two slices weigh in at 850 calories. 2)Excessive food waste. Nearly half of the food produced in the United States is thrown in the trash. It’s commonly cited that every day we waste enough food to fill the Rose Bowl. 3)Hunger. More than 50 million Americans—and 1 billion people worldwide—are affected by food insecurity.

Combine these challenges, and “you have a dysfunctional feedback loop of waste, hunger and obesity,” says Beth Hoffman of Food + Tech Connect.

Halfsies wants to break this toxic pattern with a wonderfully simple initiative. When at a participating restaurant, choose a menu item with the Halfsies icon next to it and receive a half-portion. You’ll combat food waste as well as eat a healthier amount. You’ll also fight hunger: You pay full price for the plate, and the resulting proceeds are distributed to local nonprofit partners (60 percent), global hunger organizations (30 percent), and back into the Halfsies budget (10 percent).

Pilot programs will be launched in New York City and Austin, Texas, this spring. To learn more and help bring Halfsies to other parts of the country, view their beautifully commonsensical video here:

Halfsies: Connecting the Dots from Go Halfsies on Vimeo.

This post was originally published by the Utne Reader.

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Photo: promotional image from Halfsies

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Quanta K.

2:23AM PST on Mar 5, 2012

Thanks.

send a green star

Debbie C.

2:21AM PST on Feb 12, 2012

Paying full price for a meal and only getting half, does not appeal to me.
Now, if the restaurant was offering a discount off the full price to help a hunger organization and I only took half, then I may say OK.
Otherwise, I will share with my husband or take it home.

Rin S.

5:30PM PST on Feb 3, 2012

Smaller portions is fine, but they shouldn't charge us the same price!

LAV M.

11:10PM PST on Jan 30, 2012

Go halfsies with your co-eaters and share one dish for two people!

LMj S.

7:15PM PST on Jan 30, 2012

thank you.

J.L. A.

9:20AM PST on Jan 30, 2012

I take the other half home for another meal.

Green B.

10:58PM PST on Jan 29, 2012

I answered the poll question: Would you pay full price for half of the amount of food? With a No. and No I would never pay full price for half the amount of food.

Laurita W.

10:43PM PST on Jan 29, 2012

Well, my leftovers go to the chickens and dog, and sometimes the goat. Kitty is too picky to eat anything that I am finished with. But I never go to fast food joints or get white-flour and processed sugar foods (unless they are hidden from my observation, and I am thereby tricked.)

Jennifer C.

7:52PM PST on Jan 29, 2012

Thanks for sharing.

jayasri a.

5:27PM PST on Jan 29, 2012