How Home
Gardeners Can Change the Local Food System
September 06, 2014
Story
at-a-glance
Helping those in need gives you a greater sense of
purpose and can even lead to a so-called "helper's
high," which may occur because doing good things
releases feel-good hormones like oxytocin in your
body while lowering levels of stress hormones like
cortisol.
A 2012 report concluded that 40 percent of the food
in the US is wasted. This represents about 20 pounds
of food per person per month
Fruit and vegetables account for 14 percent and 19
percent of the waste respectively. Nearly 18.5
billion pounds of fruit is thrown away annually,
along with more than 25 billion pounds of vegetables
AmpleHarvest.org addresses the problem of hunger by
providing a whole new supply channel for food that
would otherwise go to waste
The organization connects growers with local food
pantries. In this way, food can be more efficiently
distributed to those who need it most, while
eliminating waste
By Dr. Mercola
According to a survey by Gardeners' World magazine,1
80 percent of gardeners reported being happy and satisfied with
their lives, compared to 67 percent of non-gardeners. This feeling
of well being can have other more-far reaching implications for your
physical health as well. According to research from Johns Hopkins,2
having a cheerful temperament can significantly reduce your odds of
suffering a heart attack or sudden cardiac death.3
When you think about world hunger, do you consider the role you
might play with regard to food waste? Therein lies the
problem, according to Gary Oppenheimer, creator of AmpleHarvest.org.
According to Oppenheimer, the reason we keep spending a lot of time
and money trying to feed the hungry without ever resolving the
problem is because most approaches fail to address food waste.
Tens of millions of growers throw away food from their gardens
while their neighbors go hungry. Likewise, Americans throw away
about a pound of food per person per day. In 2008, that equated to
about one billion pounds of food per year.
AmpleHarvest.org4
addresses the problem of hunger by providing a whole new supply
channel for food that would otherwise go to waste.
Rather than buying and distributing food, the organization
connects growers with local food pantries. In this way, food can be
more efficiently distributed to those who need it most, while
eliminating waste all at the same time. If you're not a gardener, I
would suggest passing this information along to friends and
neighbors who do garden, or better yet, your local farmer. In his
talk at Google above, Oppenheimer discusses:
Food waste
The impact of food waste
The solution to food waste and hunger
Future developments—combating waste and hunger on an even
larger scale
Americans Waste Enormous Amounts of Food
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the US threw away
$161 billion-worth of food in 2010. One-third of the food produced
in the US simply didn't get consumed.
In 2012, the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) issued a
report stating that 40 percent of the food in the US was wasted.
This represents about 20 pounds of food per person per month. Not
only that, but 32 percent of our available water was also wasted in
the process.
Fruit and vegetables account for 14 percent and 19 percent of the
waste respectively. In terms of amounts, nearly 18.5 billion pounds
of fruit is thrown away annually, along with more than 25 billion
pounds of vegetables.
However, these reports did not include home gardeners in their
calculations, Oppenheimer notes. According to the National Gardener
Association, 35 percent of all households across the US grow their
own food, harvesting on average 300 pounds of food per year
(compressed into the growing seasons).
Home gardeners also throw away large portions of their harvests.
As noted by Oppenheimer, the food waste among home gardeners stem
from:
Overplanting, thereby producing more than you can actually
eat
Inability to share the excess with friends or neighbors
Not preserving or canning the excess
Becoming overwhelmed by the continuous food production; by
the end of the season, when plants are still producing food,
many will simply toss it into the compost bin or garbage
America Has a Significant Hunger Problem
One in six Americans is "food insecure," meaning they're either
hungry or at risk of going hungry on a regular basis. One in four
American children under the age of six lives in a food insecure
home. Among Hispanics, the number is even greater—one in three.
Due to lack of nutrition, these children perform poorly in
school, and malnourished adults also perform below par at work. As
noted by Oppenheimer, by not nourishing our population, we're
hurting the economy of today and tomorrow.
Health care costs are among the financial factors to be taken
into consideration, as poor diets significantly contribute to
obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and related
illnesses.
Our Current Food Distribution System Is at the Heart of the Problem
In his talk, Oppenheimer describes and compares the current food
bank distribution system to the system his organization proposes. At
present, an organization called Feeding America coordinates about
203 food banks across the nation. These food banks collect and
redistribute food to 33,500 different food pantries and food
kitchens that feed the needy.
This system works well for processed foods, as they have
a long shelf life. The distribution cycle in this system is rather
lengthy; it can take days or weeks from food to travel from the food
bank to the consumer. Hence, fresh foods are excluded. You simply
cannot donate fresh foods as they will rot by the time they reach
the soup kitchen.
So, despite the fact that billions of pounds of fresh foods are
available, the distribution system simply does not allow those foods
to enter the system and reach those who need it the most. Instead,
all that fresh nutritious food is tossed into compost heaps or
landfills. Meanwhile, the poor end up eating nothing but processed
fare, which we know is the root cause of obesity and chronic
disease.
Reinventing a More Sustainable Food System to Combat Hunger
Oppenheimer's idea was to connect the people with too much food
in their home gardens with those who really need it. In order to do
so, he realized we have to bypass the food bank, and donate the food
directly to the local food pantry or soup kitchen.
AmpleHarvest.org works like other search engines. You can search
the database to find a local food pantry in the US that has opted in
to participate and therefore will accept donations of fresh produce.
The software currently does not provide links to food pantries
outside the US. This system has a number of beneficial "side
effects," including:
A more efficient food system
Better nutrition for the underprivileged
Community building
Beneficial environmental impacts
AmpleHarvest.org launched in 2009, and today has a database of
nearly 7,000 participating food pantries across the nation—one out
of every five food pantries has signed up. It's worth noting that
the feedback from these food pantries is that fresh foods are
overwhelmingly popular. These are the foods that disappear first. A
common notion is that people will choose processed foods over fresh
foods whenever given the chance, but the reality appears to be quite
different.
What Makes AmpleHarvest So Extraordinary?
Oppenheimer's idea really demonstrates how simple ideas can
revolutionize our food system. It doesn't have to be complicated. On
the contrary, its simplicity is its strength. The system is very
efficient, as it only moves information, not food, and associated
costs are a mere fraction of other national food programs.
It's also universal in that it can work in any community, large
or small. And it works with both home growers and larger farms. It's
also a community builder, which in and of itself has benefits that
can hardly be measured in dollars and cents. Last but not least, it
directly addresses pressing health concerns; combating childhood
obesity and related diseases by improving nutrition. It also
benefits the environment.
Next Up: Connecting Farmers with Gleaning Organizations
The AmpleHarvest.org is now bringing this system into the big
leagues. GleaningHarvest.org will work to distribute much larger
amounts of leftover food from farms across the country. One major
source of food waste is cosmetically imperfect fruits and
vegetables. These foods are simply thrown away because stores
"can't" sell them. Again, the idea is that consumers demand
perfect-looking foods, but even here, old assumptions are being
challenged and overturned.
In France, the third-largest supermarket chain Intermarche
decided to fight food waste by creating an "Inglorious Fruits and
Vegetables" campaign. Large signs promote "the Grotesque Apple,"
"the Ridiculous Potato," the Hideous Orange," "the Disfigured
Eggplant," "the Unfortunate Clementine," and more. These foods are
given their own section of the store, and are sold at reduced
prices. Lo and behold, these "Failed Lemons" started selling out
almost immediately.
GleaningHarvest.org will connect gleaning organizations to farms
in the same way AmpleHarvest connects home gardeners with local food
pantries. What is "gleaning"? As explained by Food Network:5"Gleaning is a way of gathering vegetables and fruits in the
field that would otherwise be left to rot or be plowed under after
harvest. Instead of having this good food go to waste, the gleaning
program allows those in need to pick (or glean) the produce in the
field for themselves and their family at no cost."
One Dozen Ways to Eliminate Your Food Waste
Food waste is a reality in most homes. You can drastically reduce
the amount of food you toss in the garbage by implementing the
following strategies. Please also refer to our previous article
about proper food storage and
how to keep your food items fresher.
1
Shop Wisely
Plan meals, use shopping lists, and avoid impulse buys and
"buy one, get one free" deals, unless you're certain you'll eat
it.
2
Buy Local
Locally produced foods are fresher and keep longer, as well
as having a smaller ecological footprint.
3
Buy Funny-Looking Fruits and Veggies
Buying the "ugly ducklings" of the produce section makes use
of food that might otherwise go to waste.
4
Learn When Food Goes Bad
Use-by and best-by dates are only manufacturer suggestions
and may cause you to discard food when it is still safe and
consumable. Many foods are safe and consumable well after their
use-by date.
5
Use Your Freezer
Freeze fresh produce and leftovers if you won't have a
chance to eat them before they go bad.
6
Vacuum Pack
One of my all-time favorite tricks, which works for most
produce, is to create a "vacuum pack" to help protect food from
oxygen and airborne microbes that will accelerate its decay.
Leave the produce in the bag it came in from the grocery store,
place it against your chest, and use your arm to squeeze the
excess air out of the bag. Then seal it with a twist tie. Or use
an automatic vacuum sealer like the FoodSaver.
7
Start Juicing
Juicing is an excellent way to use up aging produce while
improving your health at the same time. Vegetable juicing also
helps with weight management and is a great adjunct to home
gardening. You can also compost the pulp.
8
Request Smaller Portions
Restaurants will often provide half-portions upon request at
reduced prices.
9
Eat Leftovers
Only about half of Americans take leftovers home from
restaurants and actually eat them. Avoid this kind of waste.
10
Compost Food Scraps
Composting food scraps recycles their nutrients and can
reduce their ecological impact. It benefits soil, plants, and
the greater environment. Composting is not as difficult as you
might think. Read all about
composting here.
11
Grow Your Own Food
Start your own
vegetable garden! With the square foot gardening technique,
even apartment dwellers can learn a simple technique for growing
veggies on a small patio.
12
Donate Food
Donate excess food and garden produce to food banks, soup
kitchens, pantries, shelters—and your friends and neighbors.
You Can Be Part of the Solution
Food waste has become an enormous problem worldwide, as the
latest statistics suggest. Fortunately, you can do a number of
things to reduce your own food waste, and if your garden produces
more than you know what to do with, you can also be a game changer
in your own community by donating your excess harvest to a local
food pantry. AmpleHarvest.org's database will tell you where the
nearest food pantry accepting fresh foods is. And, if your local
food pantry is not yet in the database, you may want to bring
AmpleHarvest to its attention so that they may sign up. Again, if
you're not a gardener, please consider passing this information
along to friends and neighbors who garden, and/or your local farmer.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.