As we discussed last week, 40% of food in America gets wasted. To put things in perspective, a third of the food produced globally gets spoiled or squandered before it even reaches consumers, according to the FAO’s conservative estimates. It is a shocking fact that eliminating food waste throughout the food supply, and all the way to our restaurants and home kitchens, would make enough calories available today to feed more than 9 billion people. In this context, initiatives like Food Forward deserve to be celebrated. Created six years ago, this network of over 500 volunteers in South California collects unsold fresh produce from farmers markets and the downtown produce market. They donate the loot to some 200 local charitable organizations that about 100,000 people depend on for their sustenance every month. By their own estimates, Food Forward saves more than 50,000 pounds of fresh food from the dumpster every week, while ensuring that the equivalent of a sizeable town gets its healthy fruits and vegetables.
Food Forward prevents waste and puts food on the table of thousands
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