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This charity feeds the hungry and helps the planet by rescuing millions of kilos of leftover food

2019-09-25T23:01:43.004Z


For 29 years, Forgotten Harvest, a nonprofit organization in Detroit, has been rescuing food destined for landfills and redirecting them to the hungry.


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(CNN) - According to estimates by the US Food and Drug Administration. (FDA), the United States wastes 30 to 40% of its food. That is difficult to understand when one in 10 US households is considered. He faced food insecurity in 2018.

That means that approximately 14 million families are struggling to put meals on the table while approximately 30 million tons of food are in the trash.

Sending food to the landfill also carries a high environmental cost. Landfills, filled with more discarded food than any other item, represent a third of all methane gas emissions in the United States.

So NGOs and nonprofit organizations are addressing the problems of food waste and food insecurity by launching food rescue programs.

Rescuing 18 million kilos of food per year

For 29 years, Forgotten Harvest, a nonprofit organization in Detroit, has been rescuing food destined for landfills and redirecting them to the hungry.

The executive director of Forgotten Harvest, Kirk Mayes, says it has taken so long to develop the logistics of his program, which now rescues and delivers 60,000 kilos of food a day.

Forgotten Harvest distributes donated food to churches, community centers, food banks and charities.

"This operation is set up so that our fleet of approximately 27 trucks and our drivers can leave our warehouse in the morning and go to around 12 to 14 different stops ... for our donations," says Mayes. The drivers collect food from local bakers and butchers and national chains, he says. "And then these drivers redistribute the food to three or four community members daily."

A rotating army of 16,000 volunteers makes this daily event happen.

“In our warehouse, our volunteers are working with products that leave our farm and other commodity partners, such as food manufacturers and other farms and donations,” says Mayes. "All this (food) is inspected, classified and ready to go."

Volunteers donated 54,000 hours of service to Forgotten Harvest in 2018.

The result? Last year, Forgotten Harvest redistributed 18 million kilos of food, Mayes says. There are 18 million kilos that filled stomachs instead of landfills.

"We see a lot of work in front of us, which makes one in six people vulnerable to food insecurity in southeastern Michigan," he says. "We are all working towards our only mission: to make sure we can rescue as much food as possible and put it in the hands of people in need."

How can you help

The federal government has set a goal to reduce food waste by half by 2030. To achieve that goal, the US Department of Agriculture. (USDA) and EPA are working with communities and businesses.

They also provide tips and guides for people to reduce the amount of food they waste:

  • It supports food rescue programs like Forgotten Harvest. Sustainable America provides this directory to find organizations in your area.
  • Help organize food rescue efforts in your community. Food Donation Connection offers online training and resources to implement programs for communities and businesses. K-12 Food Rescue provides step-by-step instructions to begin a food rescue program in schools.
  • Donate unused food . This EPA guide provides instructions and resources on how and where to donate unused food, event remains and surplus food inventory. You can also find local food banks with this Feeding America search tool.
  • Reduce food waste at home . This EPA guide and toolkit helps reduce household food waste. It also provides planning, preparation, storage and savings tips to help families and people make the most of the food they buy.
  • Make composting in your backyard . Food waste and garden waste, which constitutes approximately 30% of our garbage, can be composted. The USDA backyard conservation tip sheet explains how to start composting. Here you can find additional guides, which include ways to start a composting program at local schools.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-09-25

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