Today, we are observing Stop Food Waste Day. Initially recognized in 2017 by Compass Group, the last Wednesday of Earth Month is dedicated to Stop Food Waste Day. Stop Food Waste Day is a day to ignite change against the negative challenges that wasting food brings to our planet and society.
Food waste has harsh implications on the planet and the people living on it
Nearly 40% of all food that is produced, is wasted. This waste accounts for six percent of all greenhouse gases. When food ends up in the landfill, the nutrients never make their way back to the soil, resulting in the release of harmful methane gases. It’s as if we just put the food in a jar to decompose, producing emissions instead of benefiting the earth — that is what is happening to our planet. Wasting food also wastes resources across the food supply chain like water, transportation, labor, money, fertilizer, and more.
Here’s a look at where food waste is happening across the supply chain in the United States, and it’s costing us over $408B dollars a year:
Meanwhile, nearly 2.37 billion people globally lack access to adequate food. Food insecurity — the lack of confidence in where one’s next meal is coming from — is rising for several reasons, including increasing food costs, effects of the pandemic, severe weather events caused by climate change, and more. Even more, people don’t have access to food with nutritional value. Unfortunately, if these trends continue, over 800 million people are expected to be facing hunger in 2030.
The good news is…
We can change the course of these issues. The EPA has a goal to reduce food waste by 50% and the United Nations has set a zero hunger goal globally, both by the year 2030.
When food is disposed of properly or is redistributed to people in need, it has positive environmental, social, and economic impacts. In the last few years, technology has contributed greatly to the advancement of sustainability, especially in reducing food waste by providing solutions to food producers and businesses.
At Copia, we make it as easy as possible for any food service and retail businesses to reduce and prevent food waste, as well as donate any surplus food to people in need. Copia’s technology provides businesses with an easy-to-use app and robust analytics to manage their waste and surplus and create meaningful change in their communities.
Copia recognizes this day because it is core to our mission. Hunger can be solved by managing our food waste. Copia has helped businesses across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, donate their surplus food. By using Copia, they have:
- Donated 4,605,502 lbs of food,
- Delivered 3,837,918 meals to nonprofits in need,
- Saved 455,944,698 gallons of water and;
- Diverted 20,586,594 lbs of CO2.
Remember, your food is too good to be wasted. Learn more about Copia and what you can do to help at www.gocopia.com.
