Food Rescue
Long before we became a food pantry, we were rescuing food!
In 2007, Prabhuji saw the heartbreaking contrast between massive food waste and widespread hunger in New York City. He asked his disciples to begin collecting unsold food from bakeries and supermarkets and to deliver it directly to the homeless, as well as to soup kitchens and pantries.
That legacy continues today through our participation in the Retail Partner Agency Program, rescuing food twice a week from the Hannaford Supermarket in Cairo, NY.
This rescued food is still perfectly good—fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, dairy, and more—that would otherwise be thrown away. We bring it back to the Ashram, sort it, and share it with our neighbors at no cost through our Prabhuji Food Distribution Program.
USA FOOD WASTE FACTS
60,000,000
60 million tons of food are being wasted every year in the United States. This is one third of the food that the country produces.
130 billion
If meals were to be made from the wasted food in the United States, it would be enough to prepare 130 billion meals.
x3
Food waste in the US has tripled itself in five decades, and it is now estimated to be 30-40% of the country’s entire food supply.
5kg
On a daily basis, each American discards on average 0.5kg (one pound) of food.
240,000,000
Over 240 Million Slices of Bread Are Chucked Away Every Year. Bread is the most wasted food in the USA, with 38% of the grain products being discarded. Just below it in the list stand milk, with more then 20% of the produced amount being poured away. and 5.8 million of discarded potatoes.
