A Mounting Mashup of Food Waste and Hunger

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, politicians discuss a quick return to normal – whatever that is. But we see many mounting mashups of wildly contradictory extremes. Perhaps none is more striking than the growing contradiction between massive food waste, insecurity, and hunger.

Food Banks Overwhelmed

Food banks are facing unprecedented demand for their services. Unemployment is already at levels never seen since the Great Depression almost a century ago. More than 30 million Americans have already filed for unemployment. Later this week, the U.S. Department of Labor will release its report for April and it’s likely to be the worst ever recorded. This situation is playing out all over the world. Spain, for example, will see unemployment rise above 20 percent.

Mary Ann Budenske runs a small food pantry in Casper, Wyoming. She is already seeing shortages of staples like milk and eggs. The shipments she receives disappear quickly because of the overwhelming need in her community. Knowing that farmers have produce they can’t sell, she’s desperately reaching out to secure supplies for her pantry. But she tells the New York Times that the results are unsatisfying:

Pretty much I’m getting the bureaucratic “We’re looking into that — we’ll get back in touch with you.” The whole thing makes me sick.

Shortages and Global Hunger

This problem is sweeping the globe. As a result of soaring hunger and poverty, it’s becoming likely that more people around the world will die from the economic effects that follow from the health impact of this pandemic. When people die in large numbers, economic activity drops. This basic fact is hard to ignore, but no doubt, some will try.

Destroying Food with Nowhere to Go

Amidst all this hunger and need, we have jarring images of farmers who can’t sell what they’ve produced. So they’re destroying it. Restaurants and food service organizations normally buy much of it. But they don’t need it now. Sysco has laid off a third of its workforce. It’s a vicious spiral of economic and health devastation. Each part of this picture makes the other worse.

Agencies and governments are trying to cope. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of food and produce for food banks. But it’s a drop in the bucket, compared to the vast need and the amount of food going to waste.

We long for better news, but this situation is not headed in a good direction at the moment. The gap between jarring images of food waste, insecurity, and hunger is too much to ignore. Our only hope is that people of good will can act to bring change for the better.

Click here for more on efforts to cope and here for more on the global situation.

Ohio National Guard Serving at the SeaGate Food Bank, photograph by Senior Airman Kregg York of the Ohio National Guard / flickr

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May 6, 2020