I sit down to write tonight after an abundant, freshly-prepared, healthy dinner. Glancing down where the laptop rests, perhaps a bit TOO abundant :-). It's not that way for many people in America, however. I read an article in today's Boston Globe that got me thinking about food insecurity. Follow me below the dingledoodle squigglie dKosagnocchi dividerthingie fold after a word from our sponsor...
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Food insecurity can be defined as having limited or uncertain access to adequate levels of nutritious food. According to the USDA and cited from Feeding America, in 2011 50.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households: 33.5 million adults and 16.7 million children. This translates to approximately 18 million, or 15% of United States households not having food in sufficient quantity or nutritional quality for adequate nutrition.
Children who don't rejoice at a snow day or school vacation week, because it means they don't know whether they'll have breakfast or lunch. People being forced to choose between food or shelter, food or medicine. Men and women working one or two jobs and still needing assistance from food pantries or soup kitchens to make ends meet.
As I sat this morning eating my nutritionally sound breakfast and drinking the magical caffeinated elixir without which I am irritable and headachy, I read an article in the Boston Globe on former Trader Joe's president Doug Rauch's plan to sell meals prepared with food that is edible but has passed its sell-by date to low-income consumers. (Article may be behind the Globe's paywall but it seems to have been reprinted/quoted extensively here.) Basically, with his Urban Food Initiative, he aims to take food that is near, at, or just past its expiration date - an amount estimated in the US at approximately $2300 per supermarket per day - and turn it into meals that can be purchased by low-income Boston families.
“The number-one leading problem is affordable nutrition,” said Rauch, who worked for 31 years at the California-based Trader Joe’s grocery chain until he retired in 2008. “For the 50 million Americans who are food insecure, their solution is not a full stomach. It’s a healthy meal.”
Obviously a major obstacle will be overcoming people's impression that the food is "trash" or otherwise inedible. Consider, however, that loaf of bread, carton of milk, or other item dated yesterday. Is it magically inedible, unsafe and dangerous? Of course not, just as the Advil dated 1/31/2013 still worked to lessen your headache today. No one's advocating using food that is unhealthy, long-ago expired, or otherwise unsafe.
I, for one, would be glad to know the tortillas, ground beef, cheese, slightly bruised tomatoes and avocados, and juuuust a bit wilted lettuce were going to be someone's dinner rather than landfill. As a teen in an economically challenged household and a poor graduate student, I've BEEN the consumer shopping the "Manager's Specials" and discount racks at the back of the store. It all tasted good the day after the Magic Sell-By Date to me.
While following links on food security and other ways people are attempting to connect excess or otherwise wasted food to the people who need it, I learned about Food Forward, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit whose mission is to glean (harvest what's left after the main reaping) and distribute locally grown food from private homes and public spaces such as farmer's markets and wholesale produce markets, then distribute it to local food pantries and organizations serving those in need.
I remember reading stories about people who survived the Great Depression by picking the bits of grain, fruit and vegetables left after the harvest. I've seen the people down at the Haymarket negotiating deep-discount pricing at the end of the day, or waiting until it's closed and picking through what's left behind. I've seen what people can, and do, eat in areas of the world not obsessed with utterly unblemished fruit and perfectly-shaped loaves of bread.
What are your thoughts on the Urban Food Iniative, Food Forward, or other programs and groups you've heard of working to waste less and distribute food where it's most needed?
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without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do
not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
From Ed Tracey:
In the diary by Steven D about the Colorado business executive who has been suspended by his employer after his arrest on threatening a legislator and citing Gabby Giffords as a .... verb .... in the process - milkbone was among the first to point out that this was likely another case of a right-winger complaining about evil government .... but whose firm has government contracts they rely upon.
From thankgodforairamerica:
I love this comment today from cactusgal, in CorinaR's Just What Is Happening?
From cskendrick:
This one from Gooserock, in kos' Anti-gay bigots shunted even further to the margins.
This one from zenox, from Ray Pensador's Reaching a Higher Ground: Something Big is About to Happen.
And this one from ground grippers, from keefknight's How to save the post office.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
This comment by Hugh Jim Bissell in Meteor Blades' Physician who headed up CDC's study of gun violence blocked by the NRA explains what they looked at is all about [the right stuff.
Hunter ranted about the sequester. helfenburg reminds us that Federal employees are just waste, prompting this reply from chrississippi that made me nod in agreement.
Top Mojo for yesterday, February 25th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary
FAQing Top Mojo.
1) Bookmarked for reading and rereading by Dallasdoc — 130
2) Racist prosecutors in Texas? by Grizzard — 102
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5) Uh, obviously I must be somewhat circumspect by eataTREE — 89
6) No, I do by Grizzard — 78
7) I thought he was insipid and boring. by Smoh — 77
8) Former special ed assistant by Dirk McQuigley — 75
9) Well, it's a good thing the weather is behaving by ontheleftcoast — 75
10) Cantor isn't earning his pay as it is... by JeffW — 74
11) I have to say I'm a bit shocked by ontheleftcoast — 73
12) I vote for "dumber than dirt" by citisven — 73
13) I think that if my employer furloughs me one day by 84thProblem — 71
14) Evil propagandists count on the left lying down by CIndyCasella — 68
15) On one hand, had Romney won... by BenderRodriguez — 67
16) What disgusting sexism. by TomP — 67
17) Former public school teacher here. by commonmass — 65
18) Koop was one of the singularly few by Diana in NoVa — 64
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20) Agreed; my recollection is that Laura Bush ... by davehouck — 62
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22) Koop's career by Serpents Choice — 60
23) Idk, I've seen some pretty demonic looking by psilocynic — 60
24) Monsanto aims to control the world's food supply. by Mayfly — 60
25) I've Said This Over And Over Here by webranding — 60
26) I am Jewish and I found that bit by doc2 — 59
27) My husband met him in an airport -25 years ago by Sandy on Signal — 59
28) Now that we are in a second by doc2 — 59
29) They are just pissed period by Vetwife — 57
30) Your reactions are entirely reasonable by cassandracarolina — 56
31) And boner pills should be banned for "Dr." Pedulla by FraidKnot — 56
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