Food waste is a major problem in the United States. According to the USDA 30-40% of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. This waste has significant environmental and economic impacts, including the depletion of natural resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and economic losses for farmers and businesses.
Simultaneously, food insecurity remains a significant issue in many communities. In 2020, the USDA estimated 34 million people in the US were food insecure, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.
Akshaya Patra’s food recovery project rescues edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to those in need, tackling two critical issues at the same time: food waste and food insecurity.
The food recovery project is a step towards creating a more sustainable and equitable food system.
In the first two food recovery projects we helped recover a total of 97,632 lbs. of food.
Our solution to tackling hunger and food waste successfully brings five entities together – the surplus food sources, food pick up service providers, transport service providers, delivery service providers, and food distributors.
Our approach is to partner with food manufacturers, businesses and other organizations to collect surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.
The next step is to sort and distribute this food to food banks, soup kitchens, senior centers, and shelters that serve people in need.
This initiative supports local communities. It helps businesses save money by reducing waste disposal fees, take advantage of tax benefits and provides volunteers with opportunities to get involved in their communities.
If you are a surplus food source, don’t let your excess food go to waste! Partner with Akshaya Patra and help us recover and distribute edible food to those in need.
If you are a food distributor, partner with us! We are looking for a large number of food distributors across the USA.
If you wish to volunteer with us in solving this vital problem at hand in the USA, click here to learn more.
