With a rise in hungry families in America, I am finding it hard to believe that our government would want good food going to the waste dumps. But, it’s happening! Each year enough food to fill 725 football stadiums is being sent to waste dumps across America. With all that perfectly good food going in the garbage, you have to ask yourself, why is there a hunger problem in this country?
According to Feeding America, in 2013, 49.1 million Americans; (33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children) lived in food-insecure households. If our government wanted to stop hunger in this country then our lawmakers would not have butchered Bill HR 644 Fighting Hunger Incentives which would have given tax breaks to small businesses as an incentive to donate food from farms and supermarkets. Representative Erik Paulson, (R) Minnesota of the 3rd District sponsored this bill, which was passed by the House. When this bill got to the Senate, the guts were ripped out and it was renamed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.The final result was that small businesses were left with throwing perfectly good food in the garbage.
As generous as small businessmen or women want to be, they still have to make a profit to stay alive. The fact is it would cost the small business owners a lot more in gas, manpower and time in wages to donate their harvested food to the tables of hungry families, than it is to just throw the food in the garbage. Farmers do not want to throw food away either. They work very hard and don’t want to see their hard work just thrown in the waste dump. With a stable government tax incentive for the small business owners and farmers, these people would be able to afford to donate and everyone would win.
So, with all the hungry families in America, why doesn’t the government want to help small businesses like these farmers put the food where it belongs? There are many reasons that I could speculate, but that would be irresponsible. Does our government not want to cut back on the food stamp program? Or does the government want families to depend on a monthly stipend? Cutting back would save the American taxpayer millions if not billions of dollars every year. The fact is if we could put all that food in the hands of hungry families, there would be no more hunger in America.
I have always said I do not want my blog to become about politics. But, sometimes politics gets in the way of just doing the right thing. I will not just sit quietly while children go hungry. I have been doing my part here in Boston and I will continue to do so and I ask that you do so as well. Contact your local Senator and Congressman to let them know you have a voice on this issue.
Thank you,
Chef Mike
