On March 1, jess meadows said:
“Terrific job Taylor, this post brought up both valid and disturbing points. Do you find it ironic that not only is the richest country seeing an increase in food pantry visits by the middle class but it is also the most wasteful country in the world? I am a part-time server and can attest to the degree of waste we accumulate at restaurants alone. We throw out pounds of salad mix, cottage cheese, applesauce, bread and more every night. Not to mention a lot of food spoils. I feel like a program that would allow homeless and underprivileged individuals to take home or dine on this wasted food at the end of business hours could drastically reduce hunger. The government could give incentive with a tax break to restaurants who choose to participate.”
Jess, I was a server back in high school, and I completely agree - Lots of food is wasted in the restaurant industry, although grocery stores and dining halls are major culprits, too! I am sure you have already heard about the attempts to cut back on food waste in the dining halls. And then there’s of course the fancy new composting machine that is finally being put to use. (Not that I am opposed to it; I think it’s a great idea. It just took a little while for the university to get that project moving.)
Tax breaks to restaurants who donate would be great, but I think the problem begins even earlier, with liability and litigation. A few years ago, a student started a program to donate leftover dining hall food at the end of each day. Well all it took was one person to say they got sick and try to sue, and the program was shut down. Many entities are too afraid of liability to give away food, and even food that is thrown away is protected – some lock their dumpsters and others (like the Kroger on East State St.) uses a compactor to make food inaccessible to dumpster divers.
What we need are clear and articulated Good Samaritan laws so that people are protected, but companies can feel safe giving away leftover food. But thank you for sharing your experience, and keep an eye out for my post on freeganism and dumpster diving :)
For information on poverty and homelessness, visit jess meadow's blog.
I am also a server, and I can also attest to the ridiculous amount of waste produced by restaurants. I had never thought about tax breaks before, but that does seem like a great idea -- but Taylor I agree, the laws need to be clear to begin with so that companies are less concerned about liability and more invested in helping those in need.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that's a great point I didn't consider before. But putting something like taht into law is not far fetched. If the salad base that is getting thrown away is the same base served to the last dine in customer, it shouldn't be a problem. Serve the people as if they are normal customers!
ReplyDeleteSadly enough, legislation would be needed. But, if we can give greedy companies billions of dollars helping those in need shouldn't be difficult in the scheme of things. It is just getting those in power to realize that.
jess meadows - I completely agree, I don't see how they are very different from the diners/shoppers. But that's why I'm looking forward to speaking to some of the managers that make these kinds of decisions and seeing just how valid (or shaky!) their reasoning really is!
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