Hunger is an ongoing problem in the United States. Statistics show that about 1 in every 7 Americans are hungry. FeedingAmerica.org reports that more than 48 million people in this country are “food insecure,” including over 15 million children.
Why is this true?
In part, of course, it’s because of the high poverty rate here in the richest country on Earth (approximately 15 percent, according to FeedingAmerica.org.
It certainly isn’t because there is a lack of food. In fact, we throw about 40 percent of our food supply into the dumpster every year, according to the Natural Resource Defense Council.
An article in the Huffington Post reveals that a man named Roger Gordon and his brother Richard have helped to develop an app that will steer a lot of that unwanted food to those who are hungry.
Now, before you get grossed out because “bad” food is going to the hungry, read what Gordon had to say about the topic.
“[My brother] is a trucker and from time to time he’d have a shipment that was rejected by the receiver because the eggplants were too dark, the carrots weren’t straight enough or what have you.”
Richard would call Gordon, who would look for a place to donate the fresh, nutritious, but unattractive foods. Sometimes he’d find a place, but sometimes it just didn’t work.
Truckers carry huge loads of food, he explains, which helps to keep food costs low. If they need to spend time driving around looking for a place to unload unwanted product, they waste money on fuel costs. They’re using fuel not only for mileage, but also to run the refrigeration in the trucks.
Timing is also a problem because truckers often unload and deliver at night, when non-profits such as food banks are usually closed.
The result is that those funny looking, but healthy, apples get tossed in the dumpster.
So the Gordon brothers teamed up with nutrition and public health expert, Barbara Cohen, to create a user friendly app called “Food Cowboy,” which matches food donors and recipients. They currently match rejected food loads with over 400 organizations that feed the hungry.
Truckers who use the app will soon receive “cowboy points” that can be redeemed for free food, or showers at truck stops. Donors, such as stores and restaurants, get tax deductions.
The Gordon brothers hope to expand Food Cowboy into a foundation that will help charities to stay open later, and to buy equipment that can keep the food fresh until it is used.
So I say, hooray for modern technology! And good for people like the Gordons and Barbara Cohen, who restore our faith in humanity.
Watch this video to learn more about this wonderful app.
Featured image by Ace Armstrong via Flickr. Available through Creative Commons License/ND by 2.0
