Today I will be delving into the social impact of fighting food waste by focusing on two groups in Austin, Texas who have made it their personal missions to fight food waste and help feed the 160,000+ people in the community who are food insecure.

Keep Austin Fed is run by volunteers who gather over 55,000+ lbs of throwaway food each month to donate to organizations that help hungry people in desperate need.

KAF mission: Keep Austin Fed reduces hunger and helps the environment by connecting surplus food and hungry neighbors.

KAF vision: Happy passionate and engaged volunteers collaborating to permanently bridge the gaps between food surplus and food insecurity.

In 2016 alone they managed to save 525,000 surplus meals. That is approximately 3 meals for each individual in need! However, there is still so much more food that goes to waste. There is more than enough food in Austin to keep everyone fed. However, we must be mindful in avoiding waste at all cost and donating all leftover food when possible to organizations like Keep Austin Fed

Attached below is a link to the website if you are interested in Keep Austin Fed and helping with its mission of feeding people in need.

http://keepaustinfed.org/

 

 

Unsung takes a slightly different approach to tackle the same issue of food waste. It is an app that anyone with leftover food, including restaurants, caterers, etc can use to announce when they have leftover food they wish to donate to a food shelter. Once they make an announcement on the app, a volunteer nearby is notified. The volunteer will go pick up the food and deliver it to a pre-selected homeless population. A ride service community called Arcade City also works with the app, so drivers can also participate in picking up the food-making the process very quick and effective.

Unsung is great for people who want to help out and do their part but are unable to physically transport the food themselves or don’t know the places to bring it too.

Attached below is a link to the website if you are interested in Unsung and helping with its mission of feeding people in need.

http://www.unsung.org/

Both Keep Austin Fed and Unsung are great, impactful organizations that foster a sense of community and social justice action.

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Become proactive. Make a difference in combating food waste and helping fellow Austinites in need.