The Problem
#1 Hunger
Every day, many residents in Montgomery County are going hungry.
According to the Montgomery County Food Security Plan, one in nine Montgomery County residents struggle with food insecurity and one of every three children in our public schools qualify for free or reduced-price meals. People who are food insecure have higher health risks — poor nutrition leads to higher incidences of diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, weakened immune systems and a heightened risk for cancer.
#2 Food Waste
Throwing away perfectly good food not only hurts the people who need it, it also hurts our planet.
Unused food in Montgomery County accounts for nearly 124,000 tons of our solid waste. Our wasted food contributes to greenhouse gas pollution and wastes the land, water, energy and human effort that was used to produce the food.
We waste food for all sorts of reasons. Farmers may overplant to manage weather fluctuations, or cull blemished or misshapen fruits and vegetables before selling to retail markets. Grocers discard foods prior to their sell by dates, even if the food is perfectly good and safe to eat. Restaurants and food service organizations discard unsold, left over food for the day and prepare food again in the next day to keep their customers happy.
Our Solution
Food Rescue
Food recovery is among the ways we can eliminate hunger and food waste in Montgomery County. Rise N Shine foundation collect perfectly good food from local businesses that would have been thrown away and provide it to homeless shelters, food pantries and under served communities, where people are experiencing hunger. We are playing our part and contributing towards Montgomery County's recycling goals for reducing food waste.
Food waste composting
Composting offers numerous environmental and agricultural benefits. For starters, composting redirects organic waste away from landfills. When organic waste is stored in landfills, it generates a greenhouse gas called methane. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its heat trapping capacity.
Rise N Shine Foundation 's composting program collects food waste during school lunch hours and haul it back to composting sites.
Impact
Food Recovery Programs Composting Programs
