What we're getting wrong in the fight to end hunger | Jasmine Crowe

Summary

In June 2017, a volunteer at a food pantry in Atlanta realized the inadequacy of the food given to those in need, which sparked a mission to address hunger differently. The speaker created an app to redistribute surplus food from businesses to those in need, emphasizing the importance of providing nutritious meals instead of just food. Highlighting global examples and innovative solutions, the speaker calls for a shift in how hunger is tackled, advocating for technology and policy changes to ensure that everyone has access to proper meals and reduce food waste.

Takeaways

• 👋 The speaker volunteered at a food pantry in Atlanta and realized the food being given was not creating real meals.
• 🤔 The speaker questioned the effectiveness of traditional food drives and charity, which often result in food waste and do not address the root causes of hunger.
• 🌟 The speaker created a pop-up restaurant called Sunday Soul to provide meals with dignity to those experiencing homelessness.
• 📊 In the US, food banks are common but do not solve the problem of hunger; they perpetuate a cycle of dependency on unhealthy, imbalanced food.
• 🌍 Globally, there is a significant issue of hunger with 821 million people affected, while in the US nearly 40 million people, including 11 million children, experience hunger annually.
• 🚫 There is a massive amount of food waste, with over 80 billion pounds wasted per year in the US, contributing to environmental issues like methane gas production.
• 💡 The speaker believes that hunger is not a scarcity issue but a logistics problem, and technology can play a key role in solving it.
• 📱 The speaker developed an app to facilitate the donation of excess food from businesses to those in need, reducing waste and providing meals.
• 🏪 The app has been successful, working with major brands and diverting millions of pounds of food from landfills to people in need, equivalent to 1.7 million meals.
• 🛒 The speaker also launched pop-up grocery stores in food deserts, providing free access to a variety of food and promoting healthy meal options.
• 🌐 Other countries like France, Italy, and Denmark have implemented policies to reduce food waste and increase food accessibility for those in need.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial experience volunteering at a local food pantry?

The speaker volunteered at a local food pantry in Atlanta, Georgia, during a weekly food giveaway. They were excited about giving back but soon realized that the food being distributed was not creating real meals, but just random food items.

What specific food items were mentioned in the bags given out at the food pantry?

The bags contained items such as Weight Watchers Ding Dongs, two 20-ounce diet Snapples, a gallon of barbecue sauce, kettle potato chips, superhero-shaped vegetable-enriched macaroni noodles, belVita breakfast bars, cans of refried beans, sweet peas, corn, and french fried green onions.

How did the speaker feel after realizing the nature of the food distribution?

The speaker felt bad and a little angry, questioning the effectiveness of the food distribution when it did not provide balanced meals for the recipients.

What was the speaker's previous involvement in addressing hunger before the food pantry experience?

The speaker had been involved in food drives, collecting cans since childhood, donating in grocery stores, volunteering at shelters, and working in food pantries. They also created a pop-up restaurant called Sunday Soul to provide meals to the homeless.

What is the speaker's view on the current approach to addressing hunger in the US?

The speaker believes that the current approach to addressing hunger in the US is flawed, creating a cycle of dependency on food banks and pantries that do not provide well-balanced, healthy meals.

What global statistics on hunger does the speaker provide?

The speaker mentions that globally, 821 million people are hungry, which is one in nine people on the planet. In the United States, nearly 40 million people experience hunger every year, including over 11 million children.

What is the speaker's perspective on food waste in relation to hunger?

The speaker sees a direct correlation between food waste and hunger, pointing out that while millions go hungry, over 80 billion pounds of food are wasted each year in the US, contributing to environmental issues and social inequity.

What technological solution did the speaker develop to address hunger?

The speaker developed an app that inventories a business's unsold food and facilitates its donation to people in need, calculating the weight and tax value of the donated items and connecting with local drivers for delivery.

Which major organizations and events has the speaker's app worked with?

The app has worked with Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport, brands like Hormel, Chick-fil-A, and Papa John's, and even the NFL for Super Bowl LIII.

What is the concept behind the speaker's pop-up grocery stores?

The pop-up grocery stores recover excess food from businesses and set up free community stores in food deserts, providing access to meals, recipe cards, and on-site taste-testings with the help of a chef.

What policy changes has the speaker observed in other countries to combat food waste and hunger?

The speaker mentions that France and Italy have banned supermarkets from throwing away unused food and require them to donate it. Denmark has a mandated food waste grocery store called Wefood, and Toronto has a pay-what-you-can grocery store called Feed it Forward.

What is the speaker's call to action for solving hunger?

The speaker calls for a change in laws, policies, and mindsets, advocating for the support of social entrepreneurs, the use of technology to connect surplus food with those in need, and a shift from charity to social enterprise in the fight against hunger.