Every single day, grocery stores throw out perfectly good food either because it’s not pretty (too bruised, funny shaped) or because it has “gone bad.” However, the reality is that the food that’s thrown away is still healthy and edible and could provide much-needed calories, sustenance, energy for someone who is starving or struggling to feed themselves or their family. That’s right. People go hungry here because we routinely throw away perfectly good food.

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But, thanks to groups like Feeding America, who understand the importance of capturing excess food and providing it to people in need, good food no longer has to go to waste. “Last year, the Feeding America network and our partners diverted over 2 billion pounds of safe, edible food that might otherwise have gone to waste, to Americans facing hunger.” Amazing.

Every year in America, an estimated 70 billion pounds of food goes to waste. But, if more of us would work toward the very doable goal of ending hunger, the nearly 42 million people in the US who feel the effects of food insecurity, would no longer have to.

Did you know:

  • It’s estimated that 25 – 40% of the food grown, processed, and transported in the US will never be consumed.
  • Food disposed in landfills rots and becomes a significant source of methane – a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
  • More food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in municipal solid waste.

We need to work toward the goal of keeping food out of landfills and in the hands of the people who need it most. And to encourage people to do just that, there is a federal tax incentive that ALL food donors (including restaurants, grocery stores, ranchers, growers, food manufacturers) can take when donating food. And the tax deduction provides an enhanced tax deduction when food is donated to a 501c3 nonprofit for the care of the ill, needy, or infants!

So, why aren’t more companies taking advantage of this? It takes time and effort. It also just takes one person to knock down the first domino. Often times, people just need to be led. True, “accomplishing this task will require an increase in infrastructure, capacity and staffing, at both the local and national level”- but it can be done, communities all over the country have already started.

What to be part of the solution? Click here.

Source: Feeding America