GEC thanks FOOD FORWARD for attending our December General Meeting and educating us on their programs to prevent perfectly edible food from being landfilled. This excellent organization has now officially recovered and distributed 75 million pounds of produce to people in need! You can participate by collecting food donations at farmers markets, as a “picker” of fruit trees and/or donate your own backyard bounty!

According to their site: Food Forward staff and volunteers rescue over 435,000 pounds of surplus produce each week from fruit trees, farmers markets and the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Market. 100% of these fresh fruits and vegetables are donated to over 1,800 hunger relief agencies across 8 counties in Southern California.

Other things we learned:  the U.S. wastes 40% of the food we produce AND if food waste was a country, it would be the most polluting country in the world. Food for thought, for sure!

See their website for more information: https://foodforward.org