About a week ago, a friend and I were engaged in a huge debate about a topic that I’d rather not share. While we were arguing, she mentioned how the planet was becoming overcrowded and how there were not enough resources in the world to feed the growing population. I quickly retorted by asserting that there were enough resources in the world and that hunger problems comes from improper allocation of these resources.
Today, we live in a day and age where food is abundant. Crops have been modified to yield 10 times as much as they use to and advancements in farming techniques has ensured that more crops are being harvested and fewer crops are being lost. However, with all that being said, research from the USDA shows that 1-6 people in America face hunger, in 2013 17.5 million families were food insecure and that the main cause of hunger was not due to lack of food but due to poverty. Research from the USDA also showed that food insecurity existed in every county of America.
In my lifetime, I have been fortunate enough to never experience what it feels like to be hungry without the hope for food, however, on the other hand, by volunteering at soup kitchens, I have seen and talked to people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. They are very appreciative of the little relief the soup kitchen offers as for some it might be their only meal for the week. Over time, I began to wonder what could be done to ensure the hungry of America have enough food to sustain them. After my debate with my friend ended, I became determined to find a way to come up with a plan that could be easily implemented to help those who are hungry receive food.
In my 20 years of living, I have come to the conclusion that Americans are very wasteful. It is common knowledge that restaurants and fast food establishments throw away most of their leftover food. Yes, you read that right, every leftover Big Mac, chicken finger, chicken sandwich, doughnut, etc. gets thrown away once the establishment closes. Now I know feeding the hungry fast food isn’t the ideal situation seeing as frequent consumption of fast food has been linked to health problems. So in order to combat this dilemma, cooperation from the University System of Georgia will be crucial. As a student at Kennesaw State University, I am aware that most uneaten food prepared at the dining hall is subsequently thrown away at the end of the day.
I’m almost 100 percent positive that Kennesaw State University isn’t the only college throwing away all left over food. Now imagine if every public university in the state of Georgia donated all of its left over food instead of dumping it at the end of the day. If this were to happen the percentage of hungry people would greatly decrease. The leftover food could be packaged and sent to food banks and kitchens across the state. If that plan was implemented a number of people hungry in the state of Georgia would decrease exponentially. The hungry aren’t the only ones who benefit from this plan, since all food banks and kitchens are registered no profits the food donated can be written off and presented as a tax break to the organizations and universities that chose to participate.
The beauty of this plan is that it’s not just applicable to Georgia but everywhere in the United States. Universities and businesses across the country can participate and reduce the hunger suffered by those individuals who live in the given state. If we everybody worked together, hunger would stand no chance against our combined efforts.
Now my plan isn’t perfect and it can definitely use some work but I believe it lays a good foundation for others to build off of. Currently, I am a 20-year-old college student so my influence at this time is very limited but I believe that if presented to the right person real changes could happen. Before I close, I just want to say that it is easy to overlook to hungry and the poor dismissing their problems as something that has no relevancy but don’t forget that one bad turn of fortune could put you in the same boat as them.
