HOW COMMUNITIES ARE REDUCING FOOD WASTE IN THE U.S.

Have you ever thought that one of the causes of climate change is the food we throw away? Almost 103  million tons of food is wasted every year in the US. In other words, 30-40% of the country’s food supply is turned into garbage in dump sites (Martina Igini,2022). As wasted food in landfills decomposes, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Food waste is a global problem that threatens our environment and food sustainability. Fortunately, in the US, aside from the government, some local communities have found their own way to address this issue and help keep the environment and society healthy.

First, it is important to understand how food becomes wasted or lost. There is a long process before all the foods we eat reach the shelves at supermarkets or grocery stores. In each stage, from harvesting and storage to processing and distribution, food can be thrown away because it is spoiled. The causes can vary from climate, pests, insufficient storage, and issues that occur during distribution. Food that is thrown away before it reaches the consumer is considered a food loss. According to the UN (United Nations, 2024), 13.2 percent of all food produced globally is lost during harvest and transport. Furthermore, 19 percent of all food produced is wasted. Food waste refers to food that is edible but intentionally thrown away in retail, food service, and households. When food is lost or wasted, the entire process required to produce it, which uses a lot of energy, is wasted too.

Aware of this huge issue, some US communities have felt they cannot just sit around and wait for the government to solve the problem and are trying to do something to prevent food waste in their own way. One example is what David Murphy and Kayla Abe did with their ‘climate solutions restaurant’ in San Francisco (Veltman, 2024). In their restaurant, Shuggie's Trash Pie, they serve food they cook from imperfect ingredients that are mostly discarded by local farmers and other food distributors. Imperfect food is not spoiled or rotten food. It is a food or ingredient that was thrown away due to ‘visual imperfection,’ such as crooked carrots, ugly shaped cucumbers, or bruised vegetables and fruits. David Murphy was a chef in a high-end restaurant, and he thought that the restaurant was a place where people could do something to reduce food waste. David and his partner, Kayla Abe, believe that through their restaurant, people can begin to change their minds and understand that decent food does not always come perfectly shaped.

Another example of how communities can help reduce food waste is food distribution programs that try to connect surplus food from supermarkets, grocery stores, local markets, and farms, with community organizations that serve people in need. Aloha Harvest, in Hawaii, is one community-based, non-profit organization saving good-quality excess food from restaurants, local stores, and farms. The organization was founded by the Hau‘oli Mau Loa Foundation in 1999. Every day, Aloha Harvest’s volunteers pick up many forms of surplus food from their donors and distribute it to food pantries and homeless shelters. According to an article published in hawaiibusiness.com, the mission of this organization is to reduce food waste and hunger (Lauren Okinaka, 2022). There are a lot of organizations across the states that have similar programs. City Harvest in New York, Food Forward in California, and Forgotten Harvest in Michigan are two examples.

Indeed, food waste is harmful to our environment and society, and dealing with the issue can be challenging, as it may occur throughout our food production process. It would be even more difficult if we only waited for the government to act. However, the hope for a better future with food sustainability and a healthy environment is still alive, so long as more and more people and communities decide to play their own part in bringing that dream into reality. 

References

Igini, Martina. (2022, November 23). 10 Food Waste Statistic in America. https://earth.org/food-waste-in-america/ 

Okinaka, Lauren. (2022. April 18). Aloha Harvest Distributes Good Food to the

Needy Before It Gets Tossed. https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/aloha-harvest-hawaii-food-bank-feeding-nonprofit/ 

United Nation. (2024). Stop Food Lost and Waste. For The People. For The Planet. https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day

Veltman, Chloe. (2024, September 14). One restaurant has a way to fight food

waste: Making food out of ‘trash’ NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/09/14/nx-s1-5003076/leftovers-recipes-food-waste-climate-change