Food is Not Waste
2024 Community & Global Initiative
Food is Not Waste - Community Initiative
The Borough of Red Bank Environmental Commission in partnership with other local Environmental aware organizations and individuals, is making efforts around Food is Not Waste. If you are reading this page, chances are you are blessed enough to not be concerned where your next meal comes from, That can not be said for all members of our community.
Organizations providing meals and other basic needs in our community
Food is Not Waste - Next Level
The Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes actions organizations can take to prevent and divert wasted food. Each tier of the Food Recovery Hierarchy focuses on different management strategies for your wasted food. The top levels of the hierarchy are the best ways to prevent and divert wasted food because they create the most benefits for the environment, society and the economy.
Educating and building awareness regarding Food Waste is the next step.
For more information, please check out Food Waste Prevention Week. (and other sources below)
Food Waste - Why does it matter?
It is hurting our environment!
When food goes to landfills, it emits a powerful greenhouse gas called methane which is harmful to our environment and has doubled in concentration over the last two centuries. Methane traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Because methane is short-lived, reducing methane emissions should be prioritized as it would have a significant impact on atmospheric warming potential.[2]
Many people do not have enough to eat!
In 2018, the FDA estimated that about 37.2 million Americans, including 11.2 million children, were living in food insecure households. This means that they do not have access to adequate nutritious food. The issue of food insecurity is persistent although 31 percent of the available food supply goes uneaten.[1] Redistributing food that would have otherwise contributed to food waste, to those who need it could help reduce food insecurity.
It is a waste of resources!
Food is wasted throughout the food supply chain, including at the farm, in transit, and at home. This results in wasted land, water, labor, energy, and other inputs used in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, storing, and disposing of discarded food.[3] In 2010, it was estimated that food loss and waste at the retail and consumer levels equaled around $162 billion.[4]
Food is not waste Reference materials
Please stay tuned as community leaders and volunteers work towards sustainable solutions for managing food recovery.