Ten Myths of Food Waste and HungerMaria Rose Belding

MEANS Database

www.meansdatabase.org

Myth #1: Famine = Food Insecurity

famine (actually about food)

food insecurity

(priorities problem)

Myth #2: Hunger has root causes.

Poverty

Housing

Instability

Policy

Public transportation/infrastructure

Mental Illness

Gender Inequity

Domestic Violence

Addiction

Educational Failure

Young

Parenthood

Trauma

Discrimination

Unemployment

Medical Crisis

Economic Downturn

Lack of Opportunity

Disability

Low wages/limited work hours

Eviction

Childcare AccessIncarceration

Debt

Healthcare

Financial Literacy Nutrition

Inaccessible Banking Services/High Fees

Ineligibility for Public Benefits Identity

Myth #3: Food waste is a global problem.

67% total meat

waste

2013 Meat Waste per UN Data 2013

13% world’s

population

High-Income

Economies

Myth #4: If we can’t eat it, we can’t use it.

Myth #5: If you try to rescue food, you’ll get sued.

Myth #6: Throwing away batteries is worse than food.

Myth #7: We know how much food we waste.

USDA: $161 billion NRDC: $165 billion (how do you lose 4 billion dollars??)

Myth #8: We can fix Somalia from South Carolina.

Myth #9: It’s always as easy as finding the nearest food bank.

42%Wrong Phone Numbers Across 10,000+ Calls

A Bar + An Anti-Vaccine Advocacy Group + A Confederate History Museum + A London Escort Service

Central Connecticut

Average

Central New Mexico

17.5% 42.7% 66.0%

Wrong numbers.

Myth #10: We can’t fix it.

20 staff, interns and volunteers

on 7 campuses

Questions? www.meansdatabase.org

mariarose@meansdatabase.com