Despite the bounty of our agricultural production here in the United States, one of our most complex and serious health problems is hunger.
Eliminating hunger is a moral issue, driven by compassion for others, as well as a practical issue involving the long-term future of millions of our Nation's children.
Chronic hunger and malnutrition take a heavy toll on children's lives. Days missed from school, inattention in class, stunted growth, and frequent illness jeopardize their education and their futures as productive citizens.
In fact, a study by the Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project reports that most low-income families must receive food assistance from several sources, relying on Federal food assistance programs as well as emergency food programs.
Other studies also confirm the need for both food recovery programs and Federal food assistance programs. For example, 90 percent of low-income households with at least one child under the age of 12 use food pantries and soup kitchens and also participate in the School Lunch Program.
Even with Federal assistance and the work of charities and nonprofit organizations, last year nearly 20 percent of the requests for emergency food assistance went unmet.
Food recovery is one creative way to help reduce hunger in America. It supplements Federal food assistance programs by making better use of a food source that already exists.
Up to one-fifth of America's food goes to waste each year, with an estimated 130 pounds of food per person ending up in landfills. The annual value of this lost food is estimated at around $31billion. But the real story is that roughly 49 million people could have been fed by those lost resources.