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Title : Home Gardeners Can Change the Local Food System
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Home Gardeners Can Change the Local Food System

Tens of millions of growers throw away food from their gardens, while their neighbors are hungry. Similarly, Americans discard about a pound of food per person per day. In 2008, that equates to about one billion pounds of food per year.

AmpleHarvest.org [4] addresses the problem of hunger, providing a supply channel new set of food that would otherwise go to waste .

Instead of buying and distributing food, the organization connects producers to local food banks. In this way, the food can be distributed more efficiently 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 to friends and neighbors garden, or better yet, their local farmer. In his talk at Google earlier, Oppenheimer analyzes:

1. The food waste;
2. The impact of food waste;
3. The solution to food waste and hunger;
4. developments in the fight against waste and future hungry on an even larger scale;

Americans waste huge amounts of food

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, The USA. got rid of $ 161 billion on food in 2010. A third of the food produced in the US I just do not got consumed.

In 2012, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report indicating that 40 percent of the food in the US it was in vain. This represents about 20 pounds of food per person per month. Not only that, but 32 percent of our available water is also wasted in the process.

Fruit and vegetables account for 14 percent and 19 percent of waste, respectively. In terms of amounts, almost 18.5 billion pounds of fruit annually discarded, along with more than 25 billion pounds of vegetables.

However, these reports do not include home gardeners in their calculations, Oppenheimer says. According to the National Association gardener, 35 percent of all households in the US grow their own food, garnering an average of 300 pounds of food per year (compressed in the growing season).

home gardeners also throw much of their crops. As Oppenheimer, the food waste noted among home gardeners are derived from:

• overplanting, thereby producing more than they actually can eat ;
• inability to share the surplus with friends or neighbors;
• is not preserved or canned, the rest;
• being overwhelmed by the continuous production of food; by the end of the season, when plants continue to produce food, many simply take in compost bin or garbage ;

The United States has a significant problem Hunger

One in six Americans is "food insecurity," which means they are already is hungry or at risk of going hungry on a regular basis. One in four American children under six lives in a home unprotected food. Among Hispanics, the number is even higher and one in three.

Due to lack of nutrition, children perform poorly in school, and malnourished adults also perform below average at work. As Oppenheimer pointed out, not feed our people, we are hurting the economy of today and tomorrow.

Health care costs are among the financial factors to be taken into consideration, as poor diets contribute significantly to obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and related diseases.


Our current system of food distribution is in the heart of the problem

in his talk, Oppenheimer describes and compares the distribution system current food bank system for your organization proposes. Today, an organization called Feeding America coordinates about 203 food banks across the country. These food banks collect and redistribute food to 33,500 different food pantries and soup kitchens that feed the needy.

This system works well for processed foods, as they have a long life. The distribution cycle in this system is quite long; It may take days or weeks, from food to travel from the food bank for the consumer. Therefore, fresh foods are excluded. You simply can not donate fresh food, and left to rot by the time they reach the popular pot.

Thus, despite the fact that billions of pounds of fresh foods are available, the distribution system simply does not allow food to enter the system and reach those most in need.

Instead, everything fresh and nutritious food is thrown on the compost heaps or landfills. Meanwhile, the poor end up eating nothing but the processing fee, which we know is the root cause of obesity and chronic diseases.

Reinventing a more sustainable food system to fight hunger

The idea of ​​Oppenheimer was connecting people with too much food in their homegardens with those who really need it. In order to do so, he realized that we have to overlook the food bank, and donate food directly to the food pantry or soup of local cuisine.

AmpleHarvest.org works like other search engines. You can search the database to find a local food pantry in the US, which has chosen to participate and therefore 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 system food
• better nutrition for the most disadvantaged
• community Building
• beneficial environmental impacts

AmpleHarvest.org released in 2009, and today has a database of food pantries around 7,000 participants from across the nation -. One in five food pantries is registered

It is worth noting that the feedback from these food pantries is that fresh foods are overwhelmingly popular. These are foods that disappear first. A common idea is that people will choose processed foods instead of fresh food whenever given the opportunity, but the reality seems to be quite different.

What makes AmpleHarvest so extraordinary?

The idea of ​​Oppenheimer really shows how simple ideas can revolutionize our food system. It does not have to be complicated. On the contrary, its simplicity is its strength. The system is very efficient, since only the information moves, is not food, and the associated costs are a mere fraction of other national food programs.

is also universal in that can work in any community, large or small. And it works both with home growers and larger farms. It is also a community builder, which itself has benefits that can hardly be measured in dollars and cents.

Last but not least, refers directly pressing health problems; the fight against childhood obesity and related diseases by improving nutrition. It also benefits the environment.

The following: Connect to farmers with Gleaning Organizations

The AmpleHarvest.org is now bringing this system into the big leagues. GleaningHarvest.org work to distribute much larger scraps of food from farms across the country amounts. An important source of food waste is cosmetically imperfect fruits and vegetables.

These foods are discarded because the stores "can not" sell. Again, the idea is that consumers demand food perfect appearance, but even in this case, old assumptions are being challenged and overturned.

In France, the third largest supermarket chain Intermarché decided to fight food waste by creating a " Fruits and Vegetables Inglorious" campaign. Large posters promoting "the grotesque Apple", "Ridiculous the Pope," Orange horrible, "" The Disfigured Eggplant, "" the unfortunate clementine "and more.

These foods are given their own section the store, and sold at reduced prices. But it happened that these "Lemons Error" began selling almost immediately.


GleaningHarvest.org will connect gleaning organizations to farms in the same AmpleHarvest way connects home gardeners with local food pantries what is "gleaning" as explained by food Network.? [5]

"gleaning is a way picking vegetables and fruits in the field that would otherwise rot or plowed after harvest. Instead of having this good food, gleaning program allows those in need to collect (or deduct) the product on the field for them and their families at no cost to waste. "

A dozen ways to eliminate their food waste

Food waste is a reality in most homes. You can drastically reduce the amount of food throws away by implementing the following strategies. Please also see our previous article on proper storage of food and how to keep your food fresh .


You can be part of the solution

food waste has become a huge problem around the world, that the latest statistics suggest. Fortunately, you can do several things to reduce food waste, and if your garden produces more than you know what to do with, can also be an element of change in their own community by donating their excess harvest to a local food pantry.

AmpleHarvest.org database will tell you where the nearest food pantry is accepting fresh food is. And, if your local food bank has not yet entered into the database, you may want to bring to your attention AmpleHarvest so they can enroll.

Again, if you're not a gardener, why not pass this information to friends and neighbors who garden, and / or your local farmer.


By Dr. Mercola ; | Graphic: Mercola.com website; | References:

1. GardenersWorld.com July 18, 2013 ;
2. Johns Hopkins July 9, 2013 ;
3. Medical News Today July 12, 2013 ;
4. AmpleHarvest.org ;
5. Food Network ;

Signature: The existing medical establishment is responsible for killing and permanently injuring millions of Americans, but the increasing number of visitors to Mercola.com since I started the site in 1997 - we are now routinely among the top 10 health sites on the Internet - it convinces me that you, too, is tired of his deception. You want solutions health practices without the hype, and that's what I offer.

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