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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Waste not

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Each year in the United States, more than 130 billion pounds of food go to waste. Even with 30 to 40 percent of food left uneaten, more than 40 million people have unpredictable, insecure access to food.

In Wilmington, a variety of community groups repurpose leftover food to feed the hungry. But local restaurants and food program coordinators report, while many are fed, many are not.

Feletia Lee, kitchen manager at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, sees food go to waste every day.

“We run a buffet, so that encourages people to load up,” she said. “It’s kind of painful, because I see a person that gets a bowl and it’s totally loaded with strawberries and they ate like five of them.”

But she said the risk of liability means those strawberries have to be thrown out.

The culture of indulgence at large resorts notwithstanding, Lee said, the potential for bad press prevents many restaurants from donating their leftovers.

“It’s not just a legality. If you have a food allergy or a food-borne illness and it’s tied to your restaurant, everybody knows,” she said.

But Katrina Knight, executive director of Good Shepherd Center, said through its Second Helpings program, Good Shepherd’s corps of volunteers rescues more than 500 tons of food from restaurants and grocery stores each year.

“When I came here in 2004, they referenced the Good Samaritan law here in North Carolina and shared that in Wilmington a lot of places feel like they’re covered to give Good Shepherd food to share with hungry folks,” Knight said.

A national Good Samaritan law has protected businesses that donate food to nonprofits from liability — provided they follow certain safety guidelines — since 1996.

Lee said the challenge is inherently tied to prepared food. When it comes to extra dairy or produce, she redistributes what’s left as best she can.

“Last Thanksgiving, I ordered way too much spring mix. We went ahead and took that to Good Shepherd,” she said.

Knight said that community spirit makes programs like Second Helpings work.

“I think to the average person it just makes sense: ‘I have an apple that I’m not going to eat. Here, you have it,’” she said.

The North Carolina version of the law has been particularly helpful for community outreach groups like weekend Meals on Wheels, said program coordinator Cyndi Hall.

Hall and her volunteers supplement the weekday Meals on Wheels program and serve around 450 meals each weekend. Because her group has no federal restrictions, it can use donated food from across the Wilmington area.

“Because they’re subsidized by the government and they have very stringent guidelines, [the weekday program] could not take donated food,” she said. “We’re protected by the Good Samaritan Act, but they have nothing like that.”

Hall said the act allows the House of Raeford poultry plant to donate leftover chicken and turkey beyond the recommended sell-by date.

“They can’t sell them to Food Lion anymore, but they’re still good products,” she said. “It’s not like they’re spoiled. What happens is they give me turkey or chicken or whatever they have,” she said, “and then I spend all day running around delivering turkey.”

Hall said although Meals on Wheels meets real need, its seniors-only policy means certain groups still go hungry.

She remembered a recent phone call from a 28-year-old homebound woman new to her wheelchair. Hall wanted to help, but Meals on Wheels has two strict requirements: be homebound and be over 60.

“There’s a need in this community, to me, for people that are not 60 but still need help,” Hall said. “Some of these people that don’t have the ability to get to food pantries, what do they do?” she said. “There’s a lot of things being done in our community, for sure, but there’s a lot of areas that people fall through the cracks.”

Katrina Knight encouraged restaurants to contribute what they can to food distribution services already established in Wilmington. That doesn’t always mean leftover food, but maybe a container of oregano or a 10-pound bag of sugar.

“Sometimes there’s that thing that because we can’t do a lot, we sort of sit back and can’t get off start,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a $10,000 check to be helpful. It doesn’t have to be a truckload of canned vegetables to be helpful. Every little bit really does make a difference.”

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