Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/566723
CHANGING LANES 26 AUGUST 2015 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM On The Road by Wendy Parker The Cowboy Way. Nothing goes to waste. • One in six American families don't always know where their next meal is going to come from. • Every two Americans waste enough food to feed a third person. • More food is wasted in the supply chain in 19 days than is distributed by major food banks all year. • 43% of food waste is at the personal consumer level. The remaining 57 percent is left on fields, thrown out in processing and distribution, or scraped off plates in buffets and restaurants. These facts were shared by Roger Norris Gordon, the president and one of the founding members of Food Cowboy. He, along with his brother Richard Gordon and Dr. Barbara Cohen, have come together to organize solutions to hunger by reducing food waste in America. Although solving the hunger problem in the United States is far from simple, it can certainly be alleviated somewhat with some basic involvement from growers, wholesalers, shippers, receivers and truckers. A large amount of waste in the shipping of grocery goods could be put to practical use in food banks, instead of being sent to the landfill. It all comes down to logistics. It's profitable for retailers to refuse produce and food items, because it gives them a better selection to put in their stores and doesn't affect their initial cost – they only pay for what they accept. The people who take the financial hit are the growers, wholesalers and truckers, who lose money in time and fuel shipping unsaleable goods, as well as having to dispose of them. Often, a dumpster is closer and, depending upon fuel costs, more cost-efficient than taking the goods to a food bank. Richard Gordon, who has over 25 years of experience in the trucking industry, and who hauled produce/ grocery for 16 years before joining his brother Roger in the Food Cowboy endeavor, knows these loads are usually taken between 2-4 a.m., and food banks are rarely open during those hours to accept blemished goods. Few truckers have time to wait for doors to open, and few pantries have enough funding to keep 24-hour staff. What's the solution? The Food Cowboy has it broken down into very specific categories on their website. Drivers and shippers