HOW WE SEE IT Food Excesses A Resource For The Hungry

Friday, December 6, 2013

We’ve long heard one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In the realms of sustainability, eff ciency and economy, the axiom translates into taking a hard look at every process to determine where material once treated as waste can be turned into a resource.

Like the tapping of new oil reserves, discovery or application of new practices can make us wonder“why haven’t we been doing this all along?”

Now, consider this: The National Resources Defense Council found in a 2012 study nearly 40 percent of all food grown or raised in the U.S. is not eaten. Most of that total, around 96 billion pounds, ends upin landfi lls.

Other studies suggest 1 in 5 Arkansans fought hunger last year, joining 49 million people across the nation who had the same experience.

In that context, it’s almost impossible not to realize the former can help resolve the latter if someone is motivated to figure out a system that can eftectively connect the resource with the need.

Let’s not pretend that is a simple thing. It’s not.

Food goes to waste because those who serve it have reached a point they no longer need it and it’s time for them to move on to other work. Many of them no doubt realize the waste involved in dumping out prepared food. Of course it might be nice for some hungry people someplace to get the food. But finding them would take time and could become a distraction from the original server’s primary function.

But the potential is simply too great to ignore.

Ben Simon is founder and executive director of the Food Recovery Network, an organization that unites students at colleges and universities to fi ght hunger by recovering surplus perishable food from their campuses and other locations and getting it to people in need. He recently visited Northwest Arkansas to promote a remarkable solution that’s so simple, it’s visionary.

The approach reminds us of the generation that survived the Great Depression. In those challenging economic times, they knew it was a necessity to maximize the use of every item. Compared to that era, we live in a time of almost embarrassing abundance, yet people in our communities go hungry. Through compassion and a focus on logistics, Simon’s eftort shows communities can do better.

Groups at the University of Arkansas and throughout the community are hard at work trying to bridge the gap between hungry people and food that would otherwise go to waste.

It is a crying shame when food that could provide nutrition for neighbors in need instead is hauled oft in a dumpster. We encourage any venture that frequently serves food to seek out a connection with charitable organizations connected to those in need.

We commend those already making it happen.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 12/06/2013