I Just Gotta Tell Ya
- A single restaurant disposes of more than 50 tons of organic waste every year.
- Food waste is 76% organic and can be recycled
- Meanwhile cost of food has increased 8%
- 27 percent of all food is thrown out, which works out to a pound of food every day for every American.
- Full service restaurants waste more food than fast food eateries. Food scraps make up 66 percent of restaurants’ trash, compared to 52 percent at fast food places.
Why don’t restaurants donate food the the needy? It seems they cite liablity and other issues. I wonder if they are just lazy and don’t want to take the time.
Get Involved
Feeding America- Feeding America, the nation’s largest charitable hunger relief organization. Feeding America supports a network of 206 food banks in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Before September 2008, Feeding America was named America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network. The organization adopted a rebranding effort in order to help better educate and engage the public about our role in the fight against hunger. The new brand will allow them to build the support they need to feed 1 million more people each year, to significantly increase participation in federal nutrition programs, and to inspire the public to take action.
Resources
- City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Restaurant Food Waste Recycling
- Orange County Commercial Waste Recycling
I have a friend who has a gourmet catering/take out eatery and I once asked her about waste. Now, mind you, she is a big time environmentalist and a lawyer. But she said the problem she runs into with donating food is liability. She tried to donate to a local correctional facility and she was turned down. Gourmet food!!! So I volunteered to take her food.
We can take care of the food waste. All of it. And will cut down on your waste hauling costs substantially.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfvvrLEbsnQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Hi Karen, I totally support your idea in donating excess food to those who could fend off hunger using it. Yes but restaurants frequently claim that donating the excess food is a waste of time or a liability. I was wondering though – what kind of liability or problem can the restaurant face if it is merely trying to help people by donating the excess food which would be dumped in the trash anyway. Maybe the transportation cost or something like that. But if the people wanting the food come to the restaurant and take what they need of the excess food then it wouldn’t be that much of a problem would it? what do u think? I’d like to hear what kind of liability your friend who owns the gourmet restaurant faces in donating the food..seriously. Just from a knowledge point of view. Maybe we can better understand the problems faced by restaurant owners in donating excess food.
Some references
http://www.p2pays.org/ref/12/11907.pdf
http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Organics/Food/Donation/Business.htm
http://www.restaurant.org/sustainability/
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_16717978
http://www.ajc.com/business/waste-not-want-not-756819.html
http://www.nhpr.org/why-cant-restaurants-donate-unpurchased-food-those-need
http://www.curbplaces.com/blog/2009/02/12/restaurants-can-donate-leftover-food/comment-page-1/
http://www.foodtodonate.org/
the next time a restaurant tells you they are worried about liability, tell them to check this out: http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/gleaning/seven.htm
Gm….
With the homeless rate so high and increasinglyly
becoming worse I don’t understand why the resteraunts
are throwing away food. IT’S RIDICULOUS…
What can we do as a unit to make this a win win
situation?
I’ve had this on my mind for a while and I live in Nevada
where the homeless rate among woman and children
are out of control.
These resteraunts have the resources to at the least
STOP wasting food and be THANKFUL it’s not you
and your family.
Valerie M Printis