According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, every year, about 30% to 40% of the food they grow goes to waste in the US. What is more disturbing is the fact that around 1 in 8 Americans has food insecure.
So, one Indiana school district is taking steps to fight these problems. Elkhart Community Schools have collaborated with a local food rescue program to make sure that the leftovers from the school cafeteria wouldn’t go to waste but instead go to kids who might not have food to eat at their homes.
Nonprofit organization Cultivate comes to the school three times a week to salvage the food. Those that have been uneaten during lunchtime is turned into portable frozen dinners for kids to take home. they bring home eight frozen meals every Friday and will continue to do so until the end of the school year.
Cultivate focuses on rescuing unused food to give it to those in need. They usually take food that has been never served from catering and large food service companies. The organization hopes that the program will spread to other schools and will also help educate the community about food waste.
