Your Home Kitchen Food Waste Challenge

Reader Contribution by Tammy Taylor
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With the world population ever growing we need to produce more food to nourish more and more hungry people.  But sadly much of the food currently being produced is just being wasted.  According to the USDA an estimated 31 percent of our food is wasted in the U.S. at the retail and consumer level alone – that’s a shocking amount of food being produced but never being eaten! Food waste occurs at almost every level, from production to purchase, and can present itself in many different ways — everything from produce culls in the field for veggies that are the wrong size or shape, to transportation losses, to dented cans or unsold fresh produce in the grocery stores.

Of course along with the wasted food there are many resources wasted to grow food that will never ultimately be consumed, including water/fertilizer to grow the food, manpower to harvest, fossil fuels to transport, etc. According to USDA, food waste is the single largest component going into municipal landfills, and not only are our landfills being filled to capacity but they’re also creating a shocking amount of greenhouse-building gasses. 

Legal Protection For Those Donating Food In Good Faith

Some groups such as grocery stores or farmers markets may be apprehensive about donating unsold edible food for fear they could be sued. But the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act protects those acting in good faith who donate food. As long as the donor has not acted negligently they are protected and are not held liable in the event of unforeseen illness associated with their donation. So don’t throw away that unsold produce or the cans of soup that didn’t sell as well as you hoped they would. Donate them! You can read more about the Good Samaritan Act here

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