Bridging the Gap Between Hunger
& Food Waste in Oklahoma
A 2011 census shows that 22% of Oklahomans, including children, are food insecure, and wake each day without food or means of food. (The classification “food insecure” refers to families or individuals who do not receive enough daily nutrition to meet minimal medical benchmarks.
100 billion dollars is spent each year transporting perishable food to landfills. The second leading item filling our landfills is organic food. When the food begins to decompose, it lets off methane gas, a greenhouse gas which is 21 times more toxic than carbon monoxide.
Oklahoma is 6th in the nation for restaurant food waste.
Each day, Oklahoma City restaurants, grocers, bakeries, and other food vendors throw out more than 250,000 lbs of un-sold/un-served, perfectly edible food surplus.
That is more than enough food to feed every sigle hungry Oklahman every day!
Many lives were lost during the devastating 2013 Moore tornadoes. Yet most people are unaware that Oklahoma faces this loss every year as a result of food insecurity. In Oklahoma City alone, It is estimated that 50 or more people die each year due to lack of nutrition, andthe majority of those deaths are children under 12 years old.
The HB1418 Josephine Meade AntiHunger Act was finally passed in April 2013. This act releives all liability from restaurants, grocers, bakeries, and food vendors to donate thier food.
Businesses can now feel secure in donating their un-served, unsold and excess food surplus to the Needs Foundation for redistribution to hungry Oklahomans.
Being food insecure doesn’t mean starving; the USDA defines it as lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food opposed to calories.
People that are food insecure are paradoxically at greater risk of obesity, which often goes hand in hand with nutrient deficiency.
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Solely on Donations
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