Glenn Wagstaff
Shivani Shirolkar
Having lived in India for ten years, I’ve seen acute poverty right under my nose. People die of hunger everyday. While being financially insecure is prevalent in North Carolina — around 15.4 percent of the total population in North Carolina is under the poverty line — people aren’t aware enough to remember that every part of a meal they waste could be given away to someone who desperately needs it.
I think it’s time we take this issue seriously.
Most of us are guilty of buying too much food, and being unable to finish it before it expires or goes bad leaves us with little choice than to junk it. The average college student throws away almost 142 pounds of food every year. The United States loses $165 billion in food every year. These are significant monetary losses that can be avoided. If everyone collectively took conscious efforts to reduce the amount of food they’re wasting, it would certainly contribute to bringing down those massive values.
I’ve noticed completely intact and uneaten food lying in the trash as I’m leaving the dining hall. Maybe someone really wanted it, but ended up being too full and decided that the best place for it was the trashcan. Maybe they could have taken it home and saved it for later. There were several events on campus I attended in the last year and a half I’ve been at NC State, and there seemed to be a considerable amount of leftover food that made it to being thrown away at the end of each one.
Donating to a food charity is a great way to put the food you won’t consume to good use. NC State Sustainability has taken the initiative to donate leftover campus food to people in need. The movement was started by engineering student Morgan Murdock, who served in a community center in a low-income neighborhood on an alternative service break. Partnering up with NC State Dining, Murdock and other students started redistributing leftover food to a non-profit organization which addresses hunger and homelessness.
Feed the Pack at NC State is an on-campus food pantry which first opened in November 2012 when students and faculty noticed food insecurity on campus. In the past six years, it has given out 30,000 pounds of food. Individuals can find locations all around campus to drop food donations off. There are ways for organizations to get involved, too – Pack the Shelves, an initiative for NC State faculty members, works alongside Feed the Pack to supply the most needed items to the pantry.
As college students, we can find easy ways to reduce food waste, and as an added advantage, save money. You could make it a point to take exactly the amount you need in the dining halls, which will decrease the chances of having too much on your plate, preventing it from ending up in the bin.
It applies to grocery shopping as well – making shopping lists can help keep track of what you have and what you need. That way, you stick to what you actually plan to consume, and don’t have to worry about expiration dates. Another thing I’ve noticed is that I tend to want to shop for a lot more food if I’m hungry. I get tempted to buy stuff I don’t need. So, it’s a good idea not to run around Trader Joe’s when you’re famished – we’ve all been there.
You could preserve food you already have to save it for later. There are ways to increase the lifespan of certain foods, like freezing perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables. While you’re at it, you can freeze leftovers, as well. In addition to reducing the food wasted, it makes for an instant meal during a busy week of exams.
Every little lifestyle change helps. 11.3 percent of the world’s population is hungry, consuming less than the recommended 2100 calories a day. Judging from the mission of the Feed the Pack Food Pantry, there are students on campus, too, who are unable to obtain enough nutrition. So, of course, all organizations working to alleviate hunger welcome any amounts of food. This problem seems to have been overshadowed by many more, but it needs attention and cognizant action — only then will we be able to make and see a difference.