Feeding Landfills or Feeding People?

I heard a lecture a few years ago at Earlham College from the 2009 World Food Prize recipient, Dr. Gibesa Ejeta, of Purdue University. He spoke how the world is quickly running out of land to farm. Feeding the growing population requires scientists to find new ways to increase food production. Of course his bias was plant science and he believed research had answers to some of these problems. But he also pointed out current statistics prove half of the food produced in the world is wasted. Food is discarded during processing, in transit to consumers, food is destroyed because of inadequate storage, and we lose food that sits on supermarket shelves and through waste in each of our kitchens. He believed the other part of the answer to providing food to feed the world meant finding ways to rescue and use food before it spoils and reduce waste however we can.

The Winchester Area Churches and Community Food Pantry served an average of 325 households in 2015, up from 261 families in 2011. This has been done with very little increase in financial expenditures. Most of that is due to our relationship with Second Harvest in Muncie, Indiana. Second Harvest is a food bank that secures food from local manufactures, grocery chains, producers or retailers. This food is donated to Second Harvest and the donor receives a tax deduction. Some of the food is overproduction runs, some is close to the sell by date listed on the product, some of it is food beyond the sell by date, some is seasonal, and some is just food that isn’t in high demand. Second Harvest places this donated food in their system to make it available to food pantries, churches, and social service organizations across East Central Indiana for 18 cents a pound.

With the recent move of the food pantry to the Shalom Center and additional space for food and a scale to weigh food, a tripartite agreement was signed with Second Harvest, the Winchester Walmart and the Winchester Area Churches and Community Food Pantry. This agreement allows WACCFP to pick up donated food originally collected by Second Harvest and then ordered from Second Harvest by WACCFP. WACCFP has volunteers who pick up the free food three times a week and the food is able to be placed directly into freezers, fridges, and onto shelves. In the month of December alone, Walmart donated 11,476 pounds directly to WACCFP.

Feeding America suggests 1.3 pounds of food equals one meal for one person. Using those numbers, the pantry provided just over 11 pounds per person in January 2014 or close to 9 meals. Pounds were estimated using 1 item = 1 pound. For the year of 2015 the pantry was able to give close to 17 pounds per person, or close to 13 meals. This agreement with Walmart provided many of those additional pounds of food we are able to give out per individual.

The pantry still requires food from Second Harvest and retail grocery stores. Pantries across Indiana operate by donations, both financial and food, and every pantry operates with limited resources. Finding ways to make financial donations go farther will help us meet the needs of those who use the pantry in addition to making more food available to families in need.

Second Harvest also purchases large amounts of food that most pantries consider staple food for their shelves and those items are priced a bit higher than 18 cents a pound, but lower than what we are able to purchase retail. Sometimes what food is available through Second Harvest is limited. Since my involvement in the pantry five years ago, we’ve been able to increase purchases through Second Harvest up to 75% of what goes through the pantry doors. The other 25% that goes through the doors comes from food donations and retail purchases.

Knowing our world is quickly running out of land to farm weighs heavily on anyone who cares about making sure hungry people are fed. Knowing that half of all the food that is currently produced is wasted concerns me even more. I believe there are great possibilities for feeding people by utilizing organizations like Second Harvest who work to make sure food gets to those in need rather than ending up in landfills.

By Pam Ferguson, one of the 50 plus volunteers at the Winchester Area Churches and Community Food Pantry