On a hot summer day in July 2015, hunger became personal for me.
I was visiting my college roommate, who traveled the world as a celebrity makeup artist before settling in Atlanta with her husband to chase the American Dream: kids, house with a backyard, good schools.
As she and I sat there catching up, she offered me a glass of water. And when she opened her refrigerator door I could immediately see from the front to the back.
As she turned around, she saw the shocked look in my eyes and burst into tears. She stood there, pregnant with her second child, and told me that she always tried to keep meals and snacks in the house for her 2-year-old son, but they often didn’t have the money.
What I remember most about that day was the bright light shining in my eyes from this empty refrigerator.
I was shocked to learn that one of my own friends, someone who defied all the odds, was in this situation. She wasn’t the face of hunger that we are often shown. She was college-educated, led a successful career and married the love of her life, but just fell on bad times.
Her plight is all too common. Nationwide, 1 in 7 people every day will go to bed hungry. The numbers are similar here in the Atlanta region. According to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, more than 755,000 people in metro Atlanta turn to food pantries and meal service programs each year.
These families, like my friend, have to choose between paying for food and paying for bills like their rent and utilities. No one should have to decide if food is a necessity in their home.
My own journey fighting hunger began when I created Sunday Soul to provide a delicious Sunday dinner to people who needed it most. I rented chairs, tables and linens and served a five-course meal.
But I soon realized there was much more I could do.
My “a-ha!” moment occurred when a video from one of our volunteers went viral. Many of the comments asked which restaurants had donated the food we served. Sadly, the answer was none.
As I reflected on my time working as a waitress and bartender throughout high school and college, I knew that restaurants had a lot of food that went to waste that could help people like me and the thousands of other organizations that were feeding these vulnerable populations.
As I began to research food waste, I was shocked to learn how much good food is thrown away. About 40 percent of all food produced is not eaten. This equates to about 20 pounds of food per person each month.
Food waste is also an environmental issue that we should all be concerned about. According to the EPA, food waste has increased by 50 percent since the 1970s and is now the largest solid waste contributor to landfills. The food gradually rots and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change.
It became clear to me that we have two problems that can solve each other. Why are we not using good food that goes to waste to end hunger?
Hunger, it turns out, is not an issue of scarcity. It’s a matter of logistics.
A few years ago, I created an organization called Goodr to solve the surplus food supply chain problem. At Goodr, we connect businesses that have surplus food with nonprofit organizations and people in need.
Our customers are able to track and earn from their donations in the form of tax savings, thanks to enhanced tax law that allows businesses to write off up to 30 percent of their annual income for their food donations
Goodr has worked with a diverse array of organizations, including hotels, convention centers, airports and arenas. We leverage a network of logistics partners and shared-ride providers to get this food from our clients to communities.
To date we’ve diverted nearly 2 million pounds of good food from going to landfills, serving communities across metro Atlanta.
We’re just getting started. We aim to scale and replicate this model across the nation with a goal of reducing food waste by 15 percent and feeding 25 million people.
Hunger and food waste have met their match.
Jasmine Crowe is founder and CEO of Goodr.
