How We Can Empower NGOs to Use Food Waste as a Solution to Food Insecurity

This research aims to explore the ways to empower NGOs and other anti-hunger organizations to use food loss/waste as a solution to local food insecurity. As rates of food insecurity continue to skyrocket due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation rates, individuals experiencing food insecurity must rely on NGOs and anti-hunger organizations for support. Additionally, current rates of food waste cause significant environmental and social detriments, with over 915lbs of edible food discarded per person a year and more than 190M tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) released each year in direct correlation (CEC, 2017).
Many food-related corporations based in Northern Virginia already participate in the donation of their excess food products, but NGOs continue to struggle with the development and continuation of their food distribution services due to a lack of refrigerated infrastructure and consistent financial support. Like many businesses, these local NGOs, who serve a combined 30K+ Northern Virginia residents, received additional financial benefits and grants through COVID-19 relief programs. However, with the initial urgency of the pandemic fleeting, these organizations are struggling to provide the same services to the extent that they have over the past two and a half years, despite an increase in need.
Through one-on-one interviews with NGO representatives and corporate organizations, review of current legislation, and analysis of related peer-reviewed studies, this research is able to suggest direct action that can be taken to better support anti-hunger NGOs and the communities they serve. It implicates the expansion of refrigerated infrastructure, government supported grants, and nutrition & food label education as the primary solutions to local food insecurity.

Hello, my name is Samantha Dawkins and I would like to introduce you to my research on how we can enable NGOs to use food waste as solution to food insecurity. Firstly, I’d like to share with you these two different definitions relating to food. The first being food insecurity, which is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food, while food waste refers to food that is fit for consumption but consciously discarded at the retail to consumption phases. These two definitions are not just related by food, but by their relationship to humans and the natural environment, which we will discuss as we continue.

I’d like to provide you with some background information on the impacts of both food waste and food insecurity, starting with food waste. Food waste in North America releases approximately 193 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, and is the equivalent to each person in North America discarding 915 pounds of food each year. Additionally, food waste takes up 38.6 million cubic meters of space in the landfill each year; where biomaterials, such as produce, are unable to biodegrade, leading to the release of the aforementioned greenhouse gases. $278 billion in market value products are discarded a year, and over $1.8 billion is spent on tipping or discarding fees each year, which is a significant loss for our economy.

Regarding food insecurity, current Virginia SNAP benefits require an individual to be living at or below the poverty line to receive benefits, with the maximum income requirement for a single individual equating the average yearly rent for a one bedroom apartment in Northern Virginia. Researchers Booth and Pollard suggest that food insecurity has socially determinant traits that go unrecognized by local governments. But if able to be recognized, maybe these determinants could assist in the reduction of food insecurity, if support can be provided early on. Additionally, the need for assistance is increasing. The Virginia Emergency Allotment fund is currently serving 435,000 households a month with over $83 million in support. But, when COVID-19 is no longer considered a pandemic this support will be lost.

This concept map shows the food waste flow from grocers and NGOs to individuals who lack food security. From grocers who produce food waste to local NGOs who are able to redistribute edible food waste to individuals facing food insecurity, and inedible food waste going through a compost system prior to noncompostable food waste being sent to the landfill. This will prevent over 90% of food waste from being discarded in landfills and releasing significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The current actions being taken in America fail to address the social determinants of food insecurity, holistic & sustainable suggested solutions, or it’s connection to food waste. Senate bill 1383 in California is one of the very first pieces of legislation to address the environmental impacts and health safety issues related to food waste. They plan to reduce majority of their food waste by 2050 by encouraging citizens to use composting services. Additionally, the White House is having a conference on hunger in September 2022, but according to their website they’ve failed to include any mentions of environmental impacts of food waste or hunger, which connects food insecurity to all Americans. Not all individuals can relate to being food insecure.m, which is why it’s important that we connect the issue back to average Americans who do face the impacts of climate change on a day to day basis.

The initial goal of this research was to understand how partnerships between NGOs and corporate entities like grocery stores could be enabled, but many local food distributors already partner with NGOs and nonprofits to donate their excess food waste. But they serve the community with different values in mind. When surveyed 75% of NGO representatives claimed that they felt that environmental impacts of food waste were most urgent to address, while 25% said that the environmental and social impacts were equally urgent. But 100% of grocery store representatives felt that the social impacts were most urgent and were the primary reason why they donated their excess food waste. Corporate donations, such as the donation of excess food waste from grocery stores, can be increased through the expansion of refrigerated infrastructure for nonprofits and anti-hunger NGOs in the area.

My suggested solutions include the expansion of joint use refrigeration infrastructure. Meaning, that local NGOs and anti-hunger organizations can share one primary location to store their excess food, where it can be stored and remain viable for consumption between receiving the food donations and the redistribution of food through the community. My second solution is consistent government supported grants to assist in the management of services of these NGOs. During the COVID-19 pandemic many of these organizations received supplemental financial assistance that encouraged them to expand the communities in which they were serving. But now that the initial urgency of the pandemic has reduced these organization must now stretch their resources to serve the same amount of people that they have been over the past two years. And finally, nutrition and label education, as well as the expansion of financial literacy and workforce development programs will significantly reduce the rates of food insecurity in our local communities. Much of the misinformation about the safety of food comes from a lack of knowledge on nutrition and labels, including but not limited to ‘best by’ labels and expiration dates. And the expansion of financial literacy and workforce development programs allow individuals experiencing food insecurity to expand their skills and further the opportunities that they may be offered, hopefully reducing their likelihood of food insecurity.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my presentation, if you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out to me at the email listed below.