GROCERY RESCUE HELPS FEED OUR COMMUNITY AND CUT GREENHOUSE GASES
Food waste is a global problem that can only be solved on a local level. It is estimated that one-third of the food produced is wasted. Yet, 795 million people on our planet do not have enough food to sustain themselves. More people die of hunger than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the world produces enough food for everyone on the planet today. People lack food not because we don’t produce enough, but because the food produced is not distributed to the world’s hungry population. Rescuing food from the waste stream has big impacts for eliminating hunger and decreasing greenhouse gases. Humans waste one in every three food calories produced. The number of calories we lose to waste is enough to feed three billion people (that is 10 times the populations of the United States!) Furthermore, redirecting good food from the waste stream decreases greenhouse gases and saves precious resources. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that food waste accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas. Furthermore, 21% of fresh water is used to produce good food that ends up in the waste stream. 21% of landfills are made up of food waste.
The Berkeley Food Pantry partners with the Alameda County Community Food Bank to keep food out of the waste steam and redirecting it to food insecure people. The Food Recovery Program (run and administered by Feeding America and food banks nationwide) connects retail and grocery stores with service providers to divert good food from landfills and send it to food insecure people. Last year, the Food Recovery Program saved over 4 million pounds of food and provided those in need in Alameda County with three-and-a half million meals. Since the Berkeley Food Pantry began participating in the Food Recovery Program, we have increased the diversity of fresh vegetables and fruits to visitors and eliminated food shortages. To learn more about food insecurity in your community, as well as the work to reduce food waste, please visit the Berkeley Food Pantry, Alameda County Community Food Bank, and Feeding America.
