Don't Waste America's Food

Funny man John Oliver brought a serious  issue to light the other night on his show "Last Week Tonight" The HBO  program  showed tons of food that  is left to rot or tossed in the trash. All this is happening as millions starve and children go to bed  hungry.We as a nation have to do something about this. We have to band together to change laws and perceptions.

Mr. Oliver's report was eye opening and disgusting. Slightly flawed fruit, such as peaches, is left to rot on the grounds around fruit trees.Why? Because they don't meet the USDA standards .The shape could be slightly off or the color not quite the right shade, yet they are still OK to eat. Thousands of these can be given to soup kitchens or food pantries however manufacturers simply can't .The reason? The cost to package and deliver is too financially dear.It would leave smaller, privately owned companies more in the red than in the black. Add to this that a family run farm will not get any tax breaks like the bigger companies for doing any charitable work Maybe a better idea is letting those in need go through the farms and pick up what 's left on the ground.The extra fruit is finally put to good use and everyone benefits from having more healthy foods in their diets.Another nauseating fact is that our local supermarkets overstock - everything. Why? Because it's aesthetically pleasing. No one will want to buy the lone single head of lettuce or last bunch of bananas. We are programmed to think that the more the merrier and that there has to be something wrong with what's left on the shelves. Shoppers have to deprogram themselves from thinking that way. Kudos , though, to Stop & Shop, who do repackage leftover veggies and sell them at a lower price days later..

Last Week Tonight also pointed out about how restaurants are afraid to donate because they fear of being sued. However this is balderdash ,plain and simple. Thanks to the Good Samaritan Act, any business or even person is protected from being sued if on the rare chance,  their donated foods causes illness. Eateries large and small , can donated their overage and if this still is daunting then do what rocker Jon Bon Jovi did  -at his Soul Cafés, in Red Bank and Toms River ,New Jersey . He charged patrons what they can afford.If they can't pay then  they can help out whatever way they can.- setting tables or washing dishes.Maybe restaurants around the US can do this to cut down on the amount of food waste. Even as individuals we can cut down as well or learn to repurpose. Leftovers  can be refashioned into tasty dishes, after all we've been doing this with holiday meals for decades. Another idea is taking extra food want and "gifting" it to our less fortunate neighbors - or simply inviting them over to share it with us. We also have to ignore 'sell by" dates. These are actually meaningless and contribute greatly to the vast quantities of food that is being thrown out. Do what our grandparents and great grandparents did  to determine if food was good - sniff and taste.If it's bad toss it, if it's OK, keep it.

We are wasting large quantities of viable food, due to our stupidity. This should not be. We need to be more aware of what we and our stores throw out It is sinful and disgusting, especially with the large amount of starving Americans out there.