Our weekly serving of off-the-menu items—a few popular favorites from the week, as well as a few morsels that may have slipped your notice.
The new USPS scratch and stiff stickers are adorned with drawings of popsicles.
Perfectly Lickable, Summery, Scratch + Sniff Stamps
The USPS’ newest collection of stamps, released June 20th, features the watercolor illustrations of Margaret Berg, coupled with sweet, summery scratch and sniff scents. The stamps depict colorful popsicles, coming in a variety of different designs and smells. Although they’re only for sale in Austin, TX for now, you can order your own online!
Apeel’s edible coating can preserve produce for longer.
Apeel Solves Your Mushy Avocado Problem
Avocados are notorious for going bad quickly, an issue that makes it difficult (and expensive) for grocery stores to stock them. Food-tech startup Apeel Sciences has developed an edible coating for the fruit that can double an avocado’s shelf life. Made using recycled plant stems and skins, the Apeel coating just made its in store debut at Costco and Harps Food.
Refugees are trained with the help of Project Feast to work in commercial kitchens.
Project Feast Helps Refugees Get Their Footing in the Food Industry
In the spirit of communal eating and connecting people through food, Project Feast helps refugees and immigrants prepare to work in the food industry. Project Feast provides vocational training for refugees, teaching them how to work in a commercial kitchen, and later connects them with industry professionals and job opportunities.
Automated pollination could increase fruit crop yields.
Edete Precision Agriculture Technologies Automates Pollination
Edete Precision Agriculture Technologies is developing an automated fruit pollination system to increase the efficiency and consistency of fruit-orchard pollination. Wild pollinators like bees are disappearing, and their system for pollination is haphazard, making it difficult to maximize the yield for an orchard. Global agricultural production needs to grow 70% by 2050 in order to meet the demands of a rapidly increasing population, and Edete’s automated pollination system can help farmers harvest more fruit, on the same amount of land.
Group exhibition Funny Drawings of Animals and Food opens this Saturday.
The Art Exhibit You’ve Always Dreamed of – Funny Drawings of Animals and Food
“Funny Drawings of Animals and Food” is a free, 24 hour pop up art exhibition opening this Saturday, June 23 in Brooklyn. Artists Ellie Skrzat, Ricky Bardy, and Paige Heimark will showcase their sculptures, cakes, gifs and more as they explore themes including sexuality, humor, and modes of transit.
