An Open Letter to State and Local Health Departments
Each day in America, we get into our cars and drive. Many even step onto planes and fly. Even though these activities can lead to harm. We could even produce stats that demonstrate walking out the door each day can be hazardous to our health. Yet we forge ahead bravely with this daily activity. Why would we be so brave, confronted by "potential" perils?
Could it be because we deem our quality of life is improved by taking on minimal risk?
Food Rescue would like to introduce some common sense guidelines on school food waste in our country written by employees of the Indiana State Department of Health and Indiana Department of Education. These guidelines do not guarantee no human will ever become ill after eating unopened and unpeeled preserved food from the trays of students, any more than safety provisions for driving and flying will ever prevent all injuries or fatalities.
However, what the state of Indiana has boldly taken leadership on is that ignoring our hungry citizens during their greatest need when we have a surplus of food in our schools is not an "option". It is a moral responsibility to teach our students basic citizenship and decency when it comes to treating food as if it has value. Unopened and unpeeled food is valuable. In Indiana, we don't throw it away because of the fear of "walking out the door", or "getting in the car". We are Americans. We don't live in that kind of irrational fear!
Since 2014, with guidelines see here that were written by the Indiana State Department of Health and Indiana Department of Education, over 300 Indiana school cafeterias have donated unpeeled and unopened food to food pantries in our communities using these guidelines, and there have been ZERO reports of anyone getting ill. When utilizing such food recovery guidelines, the preservation of unpeeled and unopened food is "reasonably" safe. Any statistics that say otherwise are akin to pointing to fatalities or injuries from driving. There are bad people in the world that do bad things, and accidents do occasionally occur, and yet we continue to "live", because as Americans one of our virtues is how we define life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our pledge of allegiance even says, "with liberty and justice for all". When something is "unjust" in America, our citizens fight for change. It's in our DNA.
1 billion unopened and unpeeled food items going into landfills from our schools is an injustice of monumental proportions when juxtaposed against 1 in 6 Americans being "food insecure", and the clear warning from many scientists that the methane gas from food waste in landfills is harmful to our environment is an excellent reason alone to feed people instead of landfills.
At Food Rescue, we are proud that our state of Indiana is leading this change, and if we can change, then our entire country can change. Food is not trash, and we must stop teaching our children otherwise!
Could it be because we deem our quality of life is improved by taking on minimal risk?
Food Rescue would like to introduce some common sense guidelines on school food waste in our country written by employees of the Indiana State Department of Health and Indiana Department of Education. These guidelines do not guarantee no human will ever become ill after eating unopened and unpeeled preserved food from the trays of students, any more than safety provisions for driving and flying will ever prevent all injuries or fatalities.
However, what the state of Indiana has boldly taken leadership on is that ignoring our hungry citizens during their greatest need when we have a surplus of food in our schools is not an "option". It is a moral responsibility to teach our students basic citizenship and decency when it comes to treating food as if it has value. Unopened and unpeeled food is valuable. In Indiana, we don't throw it away because of the fear of "walking out the door", or "getting in the car". We are Americans. We don't live in that kind of irrational fear!
Since 2014, with guidelines see here that were written by the Indiana State Department of Health and Indiana Department of Education, over 300 Indiana school cafeterias have donated unpeeled and unopened food to food pantries in our communities using these guidelines, and there have been ZERO reports of anyone getting ill. When utilizing such food recovery guidelines, the preservation of unpeeled and unopened food is "reasonably" safe. Any statistics that say otherwise are akin to pointing to fatalities or injuries from driving. There are bad people in the world that do bad things, and accidents do occasionally occur, and yet we continue to "live", because as Americans one of our virtues is how we define life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our pledge of allegiance even says, "with liberty and justice for all". When something is "unjust" in America, our citizens fight for change. It's in our DNA.
1 billion unopened and unpeeled food items going into landfills from our schools is an injustice of monumental proportions when juxtaposed against 1 in 6 Americans being "food insecure", and the clear warning from many scientists that the methane gas from food waste in landfills is harmful to our environment is an excellent reason alone to feed people instead of landfills.
At Food Rescue, we are proud that our state of Indiana is leading this change, and if we can change, then our entire country can change. Food is not trash, and we must stop teaching our children otherwise!
