Social Problem of Wasting Food
Desirae Allen
University of Central Oklahoma

Waste Not Want Not
1. There are millions of problems in society that all need to be addressed, but unfortunately not all may be rectified. On the other hand, the problems with society that can be mended should be a top priority for everyone. If everyone contributes a small amount each day on something that they are passionate about a major change in the world could take place. An issue that I am particularly passionate about is wasting food and the number of hungry homeless civilians on the street.
2. I feel extremely passionate about decreasing food wastes because I have worked in the restaurant industry for five years now and I see pounds of food thrown away throughout my shifts. This puts matters into perspective for me because food that has not even been touched is being thrown away when someone on the street would be grateful just to have your leftovers.
3. As of right now and counting, there are about 1.75 million people in the United States who are without shelter and common necessities to take care of themselves, the main one being nourishment. To make matters worse, families waste about $1,365 to $2,275 annually and society as whole wastes about $165 billion dollars annually. Britain alone has decreased food waste by %18 due to campaigns and rallies, as well as advertisements. I think the rest of the world could take a few lessons from Britain.
4. Another reason I am passionate about this is I am a volunteer at a mental health facility where not only the mentally ill are welcomed, but also the homeless. I have had the pleasure of conversing with these beautiful people who have had hard times thrown at them and still manage to see beauty in this harsh life. They seem to be forever appreciative of anything they have, where most of us take our possessions for granted. I can also empathize with the people who are constantly hungry, because there was a point in my life as a child when I did not have any idea when or what I was going to eat that night, or even where I was going to sleep.
5. To help end hunger and wastefulness, I have a few suggestions; cookbooks, food banks, donations through restaurants and personal donations. Cookbooks can help us reduce food wastes because they tell us exactly what to use, how much to use for desired servings. Instead of making pounds of food that will never be eaten, we can cut down the ingredients used and therefore make less food. Another idea is to donate through food banks, which is exactly how it sounds. People can bring food that is packaged to these food banks where it can distributed to the needy.
6. On another less typical way of donating, restaurants can save food that has been untouched that night put the food into to-go boxes and donate to food banks, or another source. If they feel brave enough and are prepared they could even personally donate to people on the street. While this can be dangerous, individuals accompanied by friends and protection could package food for the homeless and distribute to them on the street in a safe manner. An example of this is there are always