Every year in America we throw away 96 billion pounds of food-that’s 263 million pounds a day…11 million pounds an hour…3,000 pounds a second. This food is not contaminated, nor is not edible, on the contrary it is very good food that ranges from protein, fruits, vegetables, and many other foods that we could be using to feed our communities. This is absolutely ludicrous; we have so many children and families that go hungry each and every day. Very simply put, hunger is defined as the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food. When we talk about hunger in Long Beach, we refer to the ability of people to obtain sufficient food for their household.
The ratio of hungry people to food being wasted seems to be a real simple case of supply and demand; instead of grocery stores and restaurants throwing perfectly good food away, lets feed our community. As I did some homework I came across an amazing organization here in Long Beach on the Atlantic Corridor by the name of Food Finders, Inc. they’ve been combating against perfectly good food being wasted since 1989. The founder of Food Finders. Arlene Mercer was inspired to end the waste, she began forming liaisons with local vendors and seeking shelters that could use good, wholesome food to feed needy and impoverished families, children and elderly. 21 years later she has grown her organizations into a multi-regional food bank that helps provide daily meals to more than 230 agencies and shelters throughout Southern California, they have successfully rescued 80 million pounds of food.
With the growing number of families here in Long Beach struggling to find employment, pay their bills, and put food on the table, it great to know that Arlene, her staff, and over 300 volunteers are impacting the lives of the hungry in our city. Arlene shared “There are too many people falling through the cracks, we seek not just to feed people, but to help them to build a better life.” To keep the Food Finders mission going they need the support of our community. One of the ways that you can support them is by visiting their “Finders Keepers” high end thrift shop, August 6th-8th they will be offering 50% the entire store, all proceeds go to support the efforts of Food Finders.
Considering the number of pounds of food that get wasted every year, its good to know that because of Arlene and her organizations tremendous efforts in Long Beach they are able to rescue millions of pounds of food and feed hungry families. If you would like to learn more or give your time, talent, or treasure to Food Finders please call Arlene Mercer at (562) 598-3003 or email her at amercer@foodfinders.org Both Food Finders Inc, and Finders Keepers thrift shop are located at 3434 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach, CA 90807.
This is such an important post! Thanks for sharing. I will share the volunteer opportunities with Nick’s club as well. Maybe they can contribute volunteer hours to this organization.