Wastage of food is an issue that is not restricted to a single country. It is a major problem for the whole world. Read this fact if you want to know what the word “baffled” feels like: “45 million Americans do not have enough food to eat and still the country manages to waste 40 percent of its food.”
A lot of food is not even intentionally wasted. It just sits decorating grocery shelves and then, as time passes, it turns inedible. And this is something that Maria Rose Belding noticed and decided to change. No complaints, no hoax words, but a strong determination to end the saga for once and all.
A revolutionary idea and a good cause
Maria has been working as a volunteer at a local food pantry in Pella. She has been trying to make this war against hunger and food wastage efficient and fruitful. Maria has opted for all possible ways to make people aware and draw their attention towards making a contribution to this initiative. Showing complete sincerity towards this course, 20-year-old Belding founded an extensive online network that will connect numerous pantries in 24 states. This stunning online network allows them to quickly share surplus food that might have gone to waste. The procedure on this online network is completely hassle-free and easy. Pantries have to post their excess food on the network program, and someone else in the network can pick it up. This way, the excess food won’t be wasted and can be put to efficient use.
Food wastage needs to be eliminated
The network has been effectively working, and the database has saved around two tons of food. Maria has been applauded and praised for her focused working. L’Oréal Paris lauded the program and named Maria Rose Belding as one of its 10 Women of Worth. Experts have also appreciated the program, and the best thing about the network is that it efficiently bridges the communication gap between the pantries. It will effectively solve the country’s colossal problem of endless food wastage.
Belding has a very clear approach and is quite aware about the problem. Belding quotes further, “It’s very common for grocers to give poorly selling products in bulk to emergency food providers. That’s just fine. But when you get 400 jars of peanut butter and you have two weeks to get rid of them and serve 100 people a month, total, and only distribute four times a month that rapidly becomes a problem.”
Belding started researching the problem and the concept behind the MEANS database. MEANS stands for Matching Excess and Need for Stability. She found that though the U.S. has emerged as a technologically powerful nation, the same cannot be said for non-profit food pantries. She realized that there is an urgent need for a network. She then associated herself with Grant Nelson, who is a law student. They both researched, and it took them a year to come up with this stunning plan. Belding has been consistently working on the plan since then. She hopes to decrease food wastage to the maximum extent possible.
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