Feeding America has been in operation since 1979, and has sought to combat hunger in America with a passionate network of food banks in the nation. In the 60s, John van Hengel met a desperate mother who looked through garbages to feed her family and she suggested there should be a location where people could pick up discarded food, and van Hengel decided to start a food bank. Eventually the nation picked this up, and van Hengel grew his possible reach with new banks, and founded Feeding America. Today, Feeding America is comprised of 200 food banks, providing food for over 40 million people. According to Feeding America’s page, over 72 billion pounds of safe, edible food goes to waste yearly here. And 25-40% of grown food is never consumed. Feeding America seeks to change this.
Feeding America targets the three sources of food waste and partners with them in an Avengers-like team to combat hunger. They target farms, manufacturers, and consumer-facing businesses. The farms they partner with allow volunteers to pick what’s left on the field, whether there are cosmetic issues or time issues that stopped them from packaging them. Feeding America then asks manufacturers to provide them with food that for some reason could not get sold, like a product that did not have right allergen warnings. Finally, they partner with food service industries to collect food that would go to waste, or could get thrown out, if they weren’t bought, like products at Starbucks and Panera. Last year, they were able to save 3.6 billion pounds of food that would normally have gone to waste, in order to feed those in need. They also educate the public about food waste, and advocate for legislation, like the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, or the Farm Bill, that help to prevent people from going hungry.
In response to COVID-19, Feeding America has set up the COVID-19 Response Fund, a national fund-raising, food-raising effort. They are actively working with government leaders and school districts to make sure that programs like the School Lunch Program are still running and that millions of children are still provided with food. They are also providing emergency grants to food banks that need the support. Feeding America has had one of the greatest responses to this situation in the nation, stepping up to help every single person they can. There are even food banks that have installed drive-throughs for people so they do not have to risk their lives for food.
Personally, I have not worked with Feeding America in the past, nor have I seen the impact they have first-hand, but after researching organizations tirelessly, I was passionate about Feeding America’s cause, and all the things they have contributed in this crazy time. They are actively trying to change the world and make it better, and when reading about them, it is hard to find anyone who has something negative to say. They have five stars on ImpactMatters, 4/4 stars on Charity Navigator, and are an accredited organization on Better Business Bureau, and for good reason. The impact they have is beyond what I expected, not only providing food for those that need them, but advocating actively on the behalf of those who can’t. Their actions during this crisis will help to save lives, and donating to them is not only going to help people directly, but it will also be a thanks to the people who are risking themselves to help others.
Often, we take food, and our ability to get it for granted. But there are so many people without access to safe, nutritious food, and giving even a small donation can help so many people survive in this time.
Thank you all for reading!
Brendan Hurley
Hi Brendan!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, and think that you have illuminated Feeding America's efforts well. I personally agree with the notion that food waste and food insecurity/hunger are problems that could be resolved together. Back in high school, I worked with a nonprofit organization that had just started, and it had similar initiatives to Feeding America's. The organization I worked with is called Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC), which serves to relieve food hunger in communities while simultaneously reducing food waste. Similar to Feeding America, RLC partners with several food businesses/restaurants in a community to redirect the food that would've been wasted to homeless shelters (https://www.rescuingleftovercuisine.org/challenge). For example, we would often go to a bakery and collect pounds of bagels and other baked goods before delivering it to a shelter in the same community. These baked goods and bread would have been thrown out because bakeries tend to sell food that they have baked earlier that morning, and they cannot sell the food a day old. They are also working to relieve the food insecurity that has increased during this pandemic.
However, RLC is a much smaller organization compared to Feeding America so it was really interesting to read about the initiatives that Feeding America has taken to relieve the current situation - like the grants to food banks and the drive-thrus- as well as their partnerships with the direct sources of food, such as farms. I think that food waste is a really big problem, especially when so many people are without food, and it is one of those privileges that are often overlooked when we over order at a restaurant or when we toss out food.
-Maggie
Hi Brenden!
ReplyDeleteFirst I would like to state the fact that I appreciate the fact you managed to tie in an Avengers reference, those movies are amazing! Second, I agree that this organization would prove to be super helpful for people to utilize and super more. Not only that, but it is important for people to be aware of food waste, and utilize ways to feed those who do not have the vital resources to obtain good food. I found it astonishing how there is 3.6 billion pounds of food wasted each year in America. To have an organization like this help prevent that problem, along with feeding those in need, is all the better!
An article I found that was similar in terms of not wasting food, is about reducing waste at home. If people learn how to reduce waste at home, then hopefully it will create a ripple effect and become part of peoples daily lives. This article was written by Lively Table and be read from this link: https://livelytable.com/reducing-food-waste-at-home/. One tip they provided that really stood out to me was about buying and eating what you know you will eat. This means not buying a large amount of food that you really don’t need. While its good to try new things, buy them in moderation instead of huge bulk of something you are not sure you will consume.
Overall, I agree that it is important to address the issues in food waste, and Feeding America is an obvious organization that looks to help solve these issues.
-Elly
Great pitch Brendan! My view of food banks has constantly been shifting throughout this school year. In Campbell's course last semester, we talked about how donating money is more beneficial than donating food because the people working at the food banks will know how to properly delegate the money. Canned goods and non-perishables only have so much nutritional value and food donations can be hard to take into account allergies or even what the person who is need likes/doesn't like to eat. Feeding America has always played an important role in combatting hunger, but its need is much more prevalent now. Stores are out of stock and this social distancing only makes it harder for those who already had limited access to food. I had negative views about food banks for some time, but I had never been put in a situation where I needed to rely on a food bank so it's unfair for me to say how impactful they are. Despite the amazing work that they do, Feeding America has a lot of sponsors. Just today, I saw an ad announcing that Subaru has partnered with Feeding America in response to COVID-19. I feel that their sponsorships will continue to grow which is great for the organization, but in terms of where we decide to put our money, how much will we have an effect?
ReplyDelete