Stop Supermarkets from Wasting Food and Help End Hunger in America

Food waste in America is a huge problem. Farms, supermarkets and yes, even households, throw away a jaw dropping amount of food. Food, that could otherwise have gone to food banks and other charities whose who work to alleviate hunger throughout our country. One of the major reasons food is tossed in the bin is America’s obsession with perfect looking food. Grocery stores know that their customers won’t tolerate a bruised banana or a misshapen tomato and so for the most part this produce goes straight to the dump.

Perfectly good food that could feed millions goes to waste every day. The stats are staggering. Fifty percent of all produce, one third of all foodstuffs are wasted. So much so, that tossed food occupies more landfill space than any other item.

This is unacceptable. The fact that 48 million Americans go to bed hungry every night should make us take action.

Last year, France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from purposely spoiling and throwing away unsold food. Instead they must donate them to local charities who can then deliver it to the hungry. This law creates the legal framework to ensure that the shameful practice of large scale food waste is no more in France.

In the US, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was passed in 1996 to encourage food donation by companies and individuals to nonprofits by minimizing liability. But the law wasn’t mandated and since then, supermarkets have dumped millions of tons - trillions of dollars worth of perfectly good food.

There is a way you and I can make a difference by pushing our Congress to follow in France’s footsteps to stop this senseless waste. Imagine how this law could make a difference for our fellow Americans who struggle to get enough food for themselves and their families!

Please stand up against waste and hunger in the US and ask Congress to mandate the Bill Emerson Act. Supermarkets should no longer be allowed to waste food, especially when there are those who need it.