Eliminating Food Waste Gaining Worldwide Traction

Written by Mike Keane


Food Waste has been a regular problem that has not garnered enough attention in the past. With the help of some dedicated companies and groups, that attention level is being raised exponentially. There is evidence that from the local to the international levels, eliminating food waste is becoming a topic that powerful people are becoming more and more active.

Locally, there is a company named Zero Percent (website link here) that has created an app that connects food sources (restaurants, stores, warehouses, etc.) with shelters and food banks in order to alleviate the issue of food waste in Chicago. The company has been very successful being able to sign on some of the most recognizable restaurants (Lou Malnati's, Hannah's Bretzel, etc.) to use their app and assist in providing assistance to the area's food banks and shelters.

On a global scale, western Europe has seemed to take on this topic full steam of late. Recently, the French government has put in a law demanding that grocery stores donate unused expiring food (Huffington Post link here). Now Britain's largest retailer is getting in on the action. Tesco will be instituting a test program by having some of their stores donate unsold food to shelters (Huffington Post link here).

The exciting part of this growing area of interest is that less and less families will be hungry due to common sense values and focused action. There is even some value economically for those looking to create a business around the topic. If you are looking to participate, or just simply have an idea about eliminating food waste, feel free to reply or email keanevcc@gmail.com.

KVCC Person/Group of The Week

This week's Person/Group of the week is every human being working to bring some comfort to those affected by Hurricane Haiyan. This week saw every resource available put to work to help those who were negatively impacted by the storm. Even though the response has not been perfect, the ability to help and create or improve ways of helping others not in your community is encouraging.

Here in Chicago, the local Phillipino Community Center has been overrun with donations. So much so that when the Governor of Illinois Patrick Quinn came to visit, he was moved enough to contact the federal government to see if the state's C130 Cargo plane could be used to transport relief materials to the Philippines. This happened because human drive coupled with technological power brought Chicagoland community together to help those in need.

KVCC recommends calling your local red cross office to find out how you can help with Hurricane Haiyan recovery efforts. You can also go online at www.redcross.org. You might also try and get a hold of your local Filipino community center. They would be a great resource as to how to help. As always, make sure you know who is taking your donations and that they have a great reputation.

It is KVCC's opinion that a collaborative effort can be used to solve many issues on every micro and macro level. Whether it is getting local government to put in a stop sign on a corner, or getting tons of supplies shipped halfway around the world to save lives, the act of collaboration seems to regularly be one of the important pieces to success. This unfortunate occurrence will hopefully bring a better process to how the global community can come together to help.