Hawai‘i Foodbank’s Post

Local food businesses are stepping up and out, transforming surplus food into lifelines for families across our region. Launched last year, SBN’s Food Saver Challenge, funded by the NRDC Food Matters Initiative, supported nine businesses in a competition to reduce food waste and fight food insecurity. 🌱 With community partners like Sharing Excess, #PhillyFoodRescue, ClearCOGS, and more to support these businesses, the challenge was able to: ✅ Donate 5,856 pounds of food (worth $82,867!) ✅ Divert 79,043 pounds of organic waste — equal to the weight of 3 school buses ✅ Feed over 700 families using nearly 3,000 rescued meals We’re excited to share our most recent op-ed with the Office of Councilmember Jamie R. Gauthier on how these efforts can become permanent, sustainable solutions. 💡 Read more in The Philadelphia Citizen: https://lnkd.in/eDMb3dU7 #SBNGreaterPhiladelphia #FoodSaverChallenge #SustainablePhilly #SupportLocal

Today is International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. Members of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance contribute to reducing food loss and waste by rescuing surplus food and distributing it to people in need. Without food rescue, far more food would needlessly end up in landfill. Food going to landfill is a massive environmental, economic and social problem. We generate a lot of carbon emissions producing our food. We also use a lot of non-renewable resources like fertilisers that present their own issues like waterway degradation. Those problems need to be solved for producing the food we eat. But they are made worse by the fact about a third of all food produced never gets eaten. We damage the environment purely to produce waste. No one wants that to happen. Growers, farmers, NGOs, scientists, government agencies and others are all working hard to make food production more sustainable. And while projects that may have promise in the future are worked on, food rescuers like Kaibosh Food Rescue are getting runs on the board now by making sure food that is produced gets eaten. Plus they are helping get food to people who need it. So today, let’s reflect on what we need to do now and in the long-term to reduce food loss and waste and build a food production system that can continue to feed future generations.

🌍🍽️ Happy #WorldFoodDay! Today is about taking action to build a world where everyone has access to safe, nutritious food. Here are some ways YOU can get involved: 1️⃣ Reduce Food Waste: Plan meals, use leftovers, and compost food scraps. 2️⃣ Support Local Farmers: Buy seasonal and local produce to boost the local economy and lower your carbon footprint. 3️⃣ Grow Your Own: Whether it's a small herb garden or a vegetable patch, growing your own food is rewarding and sustainable. 4️⃣ Get Informed: Learn about the food systems and spread awareness about food security. 5️⃣ Donate: Help those in need by supporting food banks or community kitchens. Together, we can make a difference. Let’s work toward better food systems for a healthier, more sustainable future! 🌱🍎 #FoodSecurity #SustainableFarming #ZeroHunger #NoFussMealsForBusyParents

🍎 Attention food businesses! Did you know that donating your excess food to local food banks and pantries feeds hungry neighbors, prevents food waste and even saves your business money? Let’s work together to end hunger and food waste in our communities. Find resources and local support at FoodWasteStopsWithMe.org.

Following the UK General Election results, George Wright, CEO at FareShare, said: “In our decades of tackling food waste, FareShare has yet to find a politician who disagrees with the urgent need for immediate government intervention to combat the pressing environmental issue of food waste for social good. Over the years, we have made significant strides with the support of MPs and senior political figures, transforming the UK’s response to food waste. This was a historic election, and the new Government's role in addressing the staggering levels of food waste, especially during a time of increased financial pressure, particularly among children, is crucial. As a charity that provides food to over 2,000 charities that support children and young people, we welcome the Labour Government’s policy to bring free breakfast clubs to primary schools across England. The UK still lags behind its counterparts in the US, France, and Spain in redistributing food. The Government must create an economic and legislative environment that benefits surplus food redistribution and results in more food getting to people who need it. Food redistributors, charities, and businesses are already hard at work. We know the power surplus food can have to create positive change, and we are hopeful and eager to work with the new government to deliver lasting change to communities across the UK.” Click here to find FareShare's manifesto 👉 http://bit.ly/3U5AZWP

Food waste/ Surplus from supermarkets. There are some great ways this food is shared through to communities from supermarkets like FareShare UK and Neighbourly. it prevents waste, and feeds people. Through our daily collections we feed a huge number of people via the waterside food project. But I worry there is not enough support for the small charities and community groups who also collect to deal with what's left when the food has been shared out. The use by that no one wants, or can't reach people unless you can hand out at night ( we can), or can't be frozen. What is happening to that food? How do we prevent that part of the waste? I am super lucky we have the space to compost, and access to woodchip. This (not brilliant ) video is of my latest compost bin. it is a hot composting method, so I can compost meats and dairy. After 3 to four weeks depending on the weather temperatures it will be broken down to a compost, it then will be moved to our maturing bins to be gone through by worms and to grow mycelium. In the spring it will be used to grow more food. For those who don't have the space or time, how can we create a network of composters to go with food collectors to take waste prevention even further ? #foodwaste #supermarkets #compost #livingsoils

"None of us ever say, let's just keep our trash. We are paying for this on a daily basis. So when I realized that, I realized that this was not going to be new-found spend for these businesses." - Jasmine Crowe-Houston, founder of Goodr Also from Crowe-Houston: "They're already paying waste management. Mind you, the waste industry is a trillion-dollar industry." Jasmine Crowe-Houston is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Goodr, a B Corp based in Atlanta, Georgia that collects surplus food from organizations and companies and redirects that food to nonprofits who distribute the food to people experiencing food insecurity. (from the program website) On why she chose to set up Goodr as a for-profit entity: "I think the nonprofit was going to be a much harder old guard to get past 'cause everybody always donates to the food bank. It's all we ever know. We've been doing canned food drives since we were 8. Our kids are still doing it in school now. And I felt like I was going to be spending a lot of time trying to gain respect. The biggest piece that I saw, though, was that businesses were already paying to throw this food away. So this was not new found spend." As part of her promotional messaging, Crowe-Houston reminds executives that using the Goodr service is a way they can meet their triple bottom-line commitments without significantly increasing expenses: "What I used to do is I would go to the websites of the big hotel groups, the big food groups and I would look at their sustainability reports. This is how I got the airport as a customer. And I went to them, and I said, hey, you know, 27% of - I'm looking at your waste tonnage, and 27% of this, according to the EPA, is food. You guys are sitting in College Park. Sixty-four percent of the children in this city are living in poverty, and all this food is going to waste. So I think so much - it was really about making people keep their promises. You know, like, hey - I won't say the hotel group. But I was, like, hey, you guys said you're going to cut food waste in half by 2025. This is in two months. Like, why have you guys not started?" (From Ted Radio Hour program website) Agency (主体性) + Purpose (志) + Growth (成長) + Connection (繋がり) + Contribution (貢献) = Meaning (意義)

"Every day over 1 billion meals find their way into trash cans around the world. Yet at the same time around 733 million people don't have enough to eat. The answer to both of those problems, experts say, could be food banks, or community-based organizations which collect donations of surplus food from individuals and companies, and share them with hungry people. And though use of food banks skyrocketed with the COVID-19 pandemic and remains high, experts say they’re still underutilized. Better redistribution of existing food via food banks could eliminate food waste and greenhouse gas emissions while bolstering food security." Read more about the work of food banks like Scholars of Sustenance Thailand - SOS Thailand and Red de Alimentos!

Food waste or get wasted? 🍞🍺 Toast Brewing has turned more than 3 million slices of bread into beer. They use leftover loaves in place of barley to brew their beers. This reduces the amount of land, water, and resources needed per pint. An upcycled brew that doubles as a food waste campaign. Many conversations are shared over a glass of beer. And now, food waste is front and center. Bread is one of the most commonly wasted foods on the planet. It is highly susceptible to staling and spoiling, giving it a short shelf life. Projects like Toast Brewing prove the viability of upcycling into such a common drink. And they donate 100% of their profits to environmental charities. Or as they say, "So they can buy Mother Nature a round." Cheers, Mother Earth! We haven't given up on you. 🌎🍺 Drink responsibly... I don't care if you get a little drunk, but don't be stupid and drive. #circulareconomy #beer #waste

What is the difference between Food loss and Food waste? Food loss happens when food unavoidably becomes unfit for human consumption before people have a chance to eat it. It’s most prevalent in lower income countries when food is unintentionally damaged or destroyed by pests or mold. Food waste  happens when we discard food that’s still fit for human consumption, either before or after it spoils. It happens most often in high-income countries at restaurants, hotels and homes. -World Food Program USA According to US Food and Drug Association, in the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30–40 percent of the food supply.  Fight food waste by supporting local food banks like us through volunteering and donations. Visit heartofcompassionca.org now!