Every day, millions of people in the United States struggle to access food while millions of tons of perfectly good food goes to waste. Feeding Our Kids is changing that!
Food waste happens when safe, high-quality food is thrown out instead of being eaten. According to Feeding America, every year in the United States, 119 billion pounds of food is wasted, that’s 38% of all food that goes unsold or uneaten. Perfectly good food may not be able to be sold at stores due to:
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Seasonal packaging (such as holiday-themed food)
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Upcoming sell-by or best-by dates (food is often still safe to eat)
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Overproduction of a food
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Food getting damaged during transport
These foods are often donated to food banks to avoid perfectly good food from being wasted. Feeding Our Kids redistributes food that can no longer be sold in stores by including them in our weekend food bags.
How Does Date Labeling Impact Food Waste?
According to the USDA, confusion over the meaning of dates applied to food products can result in consumers discarding wholesome food. In an effort to reduce food waste, it is important that consumers understand that the dates applied to food are for quality and not for safety. Food products are safe to consume past the date on the label.
We know food is safe to eat after its “best by” date, but how do we know it is still good quality?
The Feeding Our Kids staff and their families taste test every new food added to the menu and any food we receive near or after its “best by” date. That means that if we are feeding it to your kids, we have fed it to our kids!