| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Annika |
Posted - Aug 18 2011 : 08:24:39 AM
I've been thinking a lot lately about the poor and homeless and hungry in our country. I see so much wasted food that could go to feed people in need. I just wanted to post this article that I found and open a thread about limiting food (and clothing etc.) waste and helping others around us. What we can do to help and how we go about it.
"Through the Lens of Poverty ~
An increasing number of Americans face poverty and, as a result, hunger. Meanwhile, we waste close to half of all food produced domestically.
It’s an American paradox. How can waste and hunger coexist? Two words: poor distribution.
From farm to fork, America squanders 40 percent of its food. Every day, Americans waste enough food to fill the 90,000-seat Rose Bowl. So much of the food that isn’t consumed is perfectly edible, yet we lack the will and the means to collect and distribute it to those in need. That must change.
Food insecurity is the highest it has been since the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began tracking in 1995. In all, 15 percent of American households were “food insecure,” meaning they did not have the resources to obtain adequate nutrition and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Given the number of hungry Americans – and the environmental impact of waste, which is another story altogether – it’s high time we harness the food we now squander. While we struggle to feed everyone today, it won’t get any easier as national and global populations continue to grow.
Utilizing a decent chunk of what we now waste wouldn’t be terribly difficult. We would just need to redistribute edible but unsellable foods. In other words, harvest all of our crops, encourage donations from food manufacturers and wholesalers, and, where necessary, collect unsold food from supermarkets, restaurants, and industrial kitchens. This would go a long way to feeding the low-income Americans who face food insecurity.
Several diligent, non-profit food recovery groups already perform these tasks. In agricultural settings, this usually takes the form of gleaning, where volunteers descend on a farm to pick what would otherwise be plowed under. Major farm food recovery operations, the Society of St. Andrew being the largest, also receive donations by the pallet or truckload on a fairly regular basis. More retail-based solutions occur in urban settings through food recovery groups like City Harvest and D.C. Central Kitchen, which rescue millions of pounds of edible food each year.
A few other steps will help reduce waste.
First, we can adopt a more systematic approach to recovering and redistributing the excess. In particular, agricultural excess could have a major impact. That’s why the USDA should promote food recovery and encourage its constituents to donate. That would mean reminding growers that donation is the best option for extra crops or products they don’t plan to sell.
To keep it simple, the USDA could return to having a federal gleaning coordinator – as was the case under the Clinton-era Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman – a position which didn’t exist before and hasn’t since.
Second, we should establish incentives for farmers to harvest all that they grow. Whether by carrot or by stick, this encouragement needs to happen. Unfortunately, all too often, the price of a good means that it’s not economically viable to harvest entire fields. And, with hand-picked crops, our choosiness sometimes means that produce that is the wrong shape, size, or color stays in the field or tree.
Third, we must begin streamlining tax deductions for food donations and make them open to all donors. This would boost the charitable giving that helps an estimated 21 million Americans to feed their families. Under the current tax code, unincorporated farms aren’t eligible to take such deductions. For growers and retailers able to take these deductions, doing so is anything but easy. As a result, many farms and stores don’t receive any financial benefit when they donate valuable, nourishing goods to those who need them most.
To be clear, many farmers and supermarkets are currently donating food. Yet more could participate.
That’s why the fourth step would be a national database of available recipients and collecting agencies. While most supermarkets donate some items, they’re usually not the foods most needed to provide healthy meals for those in need. Coordination through a database could ensure food donations are better targeted.
Fifth, while stores donate baked goods freely, they’re often hesitant to give perishable foods like proteins and produce. That’s why we must remind potential donors that the 1996 Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects them from liability when they donate food in good faith, and that donating food is an opportunity to garner positive publicity.
If we as a nation make a commitment to reducing waste and putting our food to better use, the potential rewards are considerable. Based on the numbers, cutting a quarter of our food waste could provide sustenance for all who need it.
In practice, that probably wouldn’t eliminate the need for other hunger relief tools like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) and the National School Lunch Program. But trimming our food waste surely wouldn’t hurt. It would go a long way toward diminishing American hunger."
http://www.wastedfood.com/2011/05/11/through-the-lens-of-poverty/
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
|
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Sep 27 2011 : 08:31:42 AM
Loved your article & wish more people would realize that giving food away to shelters, soup kitchens & other needy organizations is a plus not a minus....With todays problems more people are becoming homeless not of their own making....less jobs available create so many problems that even those who have always stayed above water are now out on the street ....I get so angry when places refuse to donate or give away their good useable food because they don't want to mess with it, they lose money which I can't figure out that comment I have heard...the food isn't getting sold so throwing it away or giving it away is the same thing in my eyes....you didn't get the money either way....I love that some will give it to pig farmers but not to someone who asked for it....& don't even think about getting it out of their trash containers...they will arrest you for it....years ago there was a report about the building full of rice that was going to waste & feeding the mice because the companies didn't want to let it be given away to help others. Ok maybe white rice isn't the healthiest food but its a food that can fill a hungry belly & mixed with other vegetables be a healthy food to the ones that need it....I have never met a farmer who farmed so his vegetables would get wasted....they farm to create foods for others but once its out of their hands the stores, cafes ect can decide once its past the point they will serve it or sell it it is thrown away.....
I was raised in a childrens home back in the 1970's & they had to throw out all food that was not eaten, that was the law back then but at least we did have animal farmers that came & got the food so at least their chickens, goats & pigs were getting great simply healthy food.
I have met owners of places that have this attitude of why should they help others, they are working why aren't the ones who are coming asking for the food not working...its a horrible attitude to have & I do not understand it. I have 25 chickens & 6 blocks away I could sell a doz of my eggs for $1.75 but I decided I had too many neighbors with children who needed the extra food. I never ask, I just show up with the eggs & tell them I have too many, which I do...right now my eggs feed 6 children (2 families)plus I have another neighbor who is a sort of jack of all trades who is up in age that I give eggs to when I see him. I also give eggs to anyone who comes to visit...now its not much but I feed my chickens very good feeds, grains ect so they are getting good eggs.
As long as I raise chickens I will give eggs to people cause in my heart its the right thing to do.
As for leftovers we always try to eat them up...sometimes I do have waste but I try to keep it low & when my husband is home he eats everything i sit in front of him....lol.....if I think its going to go bad before we get to it I will freeze it, since I never make small batches of soups I always have containers ready in the freeze for those days its cold or I am not in the mood to cook....plus I create alot of hobo soups from extra vegs, meats, rice ect to make sure nothing gets wasted....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| Tea Lady |
Posted - Sep 23 2011 : 1:50:18 PM
Elisabeth - I like your 24-hour Leftover Rule. My husband is notorious for bringing home something from a restaurant - then not eating it - and letting it go to waste. This sounds easy enough to implement. Also, I'm a sucker for farmers markets too - it can be challenging not to go overboard because everything looks and smells so good.
There are just two of us and I can't believe how much we spend on food. Since I've been doing the Food Waste Friday, I've been throwing out much, much less. This morning I only had a half a lemon and a little sour cream left that went bad. Not too shabby when I think of all the stuff I routinely threw out before I started paying attention.
Lorraine
(aka Tea Lady)
Farmgirl #1819
www.birdsandteas.com |
| Sourceress |
Posted - Sep 22 2011 : 6:40:19 PM
I can't imagine throwing leftovers in the trash, unless it was some kind of food experiment that totally failed and which no one wanted to eat. And even then, I'd probably offer it to the dog first. But just tossing them? At least give them a chance! You can toss them after they've sat in your fridge to the point of inedibility...
Which was something I'd noticed happening in our house a lot, and it really bothers me. We can barely afford to buy enough food as it is - so what are we doing letting all this perfectly good food go to waste? I have started trying to crack down on that, making sure that stuff gets used up as soon as possible. We label and date everything that goes in the fridge so we know what it is and how old it is. That makes life a lot easier when you're cleaning the fridge - if what you see through the glass doesn't look anything like what it says on the label, you know it's bad! And if it does, the date can help you decide if it's worth keeping it or if it should be tossed in the name of food safety.
Also, we have The 24-Hour Leftovers Rule. This rule states that if you have really good leftovers, like from a restaurant, or a piece of dessert or something that is specifically reserved for you, you have one full day to eat them. The morning of the day after the day after the leftovers in question were created, they go up for grabs. We instituted this rule because I got very tired of throwing out things that I would have liked to have eaten, but didn't because they belonged to someone else who never ate them. Or similarly, throwing out things that had been mine and which someone else wanted but hadn't taken out of respect for me. The rule means that everybody gets a fair deal, and everybody knows how it works: You get exclusive rights to your food for one day. So you can bring home that awesome steak from that little brewpub, or decide to save your dessert for later because you're just too full after that great dinner, and know that when you go back for it later, it'll be there. At the same time, if you don't go back for it, anyone else in the household is allowed to take it and enjoy it themselves. I've had to throw out far fewer leftovers since we instituted this rule. :-)
Even so, though, lately I have been looking for ways to reduce our food budget, including either fixing less food, so that there are no leftovers, or fixing twice as much as we need and freezing the "leftovers" for another night. I have also started being very careful about buying produce for things unless I am absolutely sure I'm going to be able to use it. Instead of buying a crate of peaches and saying "ooh, I'll have to go home and dig out my jars and canning stuff and make jam!" - and then tossing them in the compost a month and a half later because it never happened - now I say "Ooh, peaches - I'll have to go home and get out all my canning supplies, and then I'll come back and get some!" That way, if I end up not having the energy, I'm not stuck with a ton of peaches that are going bad before we can use them all. And if I do ever manage to get all my stuff together and still have energy, why, I'll go right down to the fruit stand and get some peaches!
I have found that having a plan really helps me to keep from overbuying at produce stands and farmer's markets. If I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it, I don't buy it. If I'm intrigued by something, I can go home, find a recipe, and get some next time. This has helped cut down on food lost to spoilage as well.
If I ever get my garden up and running, that should help loads - produce stays fresh a lot longer if you don't pick it until you need it. In the meantime, thank goodness for all the farm stands nearby!
I know there are ginormous amounts of waste at the industrial scale, and that needs to be addressed, but I can actually *do* something about the waste in my own household - good for my household, better for the planet. And ultimately, I think if everybody focused on reducing the waste in their own households, and growing/producing more of their own food, we might end up reducing some of that industrial waste as well. But that'll take a bit longer :-)
|
| mickib |
Posted - Sep 22 2011 : 11:45:52 AM
Meg, my sister-in-law is the same way. Every time my mom eats at my brothers house, his wife takes all the leftovers and throws them in the trash. Now my mom asks to take them home before she can get them to the trash. |
| Calico Hen |
Posted - Sep 22 2011 : 07:35:58 AM
My neighbor's husband will not allow "leftovers" so either she eats the leftovers for her lunch the next day or it all gets tossed. What a waste! |
| knittinchick |
Posted - Aug 21 2011 : 9:14:48 PM
Lorraine, that blog sounds interesting. I remember at Girl Scout camp we always used to have a waste buckcet. Certain things of course, didn't count, like skins of a baked potato and chicken bones, but it really made us think of what we threw out.
God's and Farmgirl's Blessings,
Megan
At heart, I am both a sassy city girl and a down-home country gal.
The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. |
| Tea Lady |
Posted - Aug 21 2011 : 5:48:57 PM
Annika - that really was an interesting article. I recently heard another news story about wasted food on NPR. Its amazing that we have the capability to feed everyone, and yet so much food is wasted. An old friend and I meet at a restaurant in an outdoor mall once or twice a year for a much needed get-together. We have dinner, then wander around and we end up at a little bakery to get a tea for the road home. We usually get there right before they close - last time we were sitting there with our tea and talking before we left and noticed they were throwing out all rhe bread, muffins, and cookies. We couldn't believe it! We asked why they were throwing it out and they said it was a management decision... We couldn't believe it. I can't think of any reason they couldn't have contacted a shelter and arranged for a pick-up.
Also, I read a blog (The Frugal Girl - http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/)and she has a Food Waste Friday. She posts everything she has to throw out on Fridays - she started it a couple years ago. I've started doing it too - it really makes you pay attention. I believe we should all start at home. Baby steps...
Lorraine
(aka Tea Lady)
Farmgirl #1819
www.birdsandteas.com |
| knittinchick |
Posted - Aug 18 2011 : 7:37:49 PM
Annika, what an interesting article! Growing up, I often wondered where all of our leftover food goes. I knew that families threw leftovers out, but I always wondered what the supermarkets did with the expired food. I wish that more supermarkets wouldn't be hesitant to donate food, though. I never knew that such a law existed so that supermarkets could freely donate without having to be liable if something happened. Thanks for sharing!
God's and Farmgirl's Blessings,
Megan
At heart, I am both a sassy city girl and a down-home country gal.
The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. |
|
|
