CBW Food Bank Initiative
CBW Food Bank Initiative
Our warehouse receives, stores, and ships thousands of items a day. Unfortunately, not all of those products will make it to the customer in the end. So what happens to damaged or short-dated product from the CBW warehouse?
CBW has a food bank initiative to help combat food insecurity in our community and reduce waste.
Food insecurity is a leading health issue in the modern United States. Food insecurity means that households lack access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources. This food insecurity may be brief or prolonged, depending on the circumstances. Currently in both York and Lancaster, 9% of families experience food insecurity. Nationwide, food insecurity affects an estimated 35 million people, including more than 11 million children (feedingamerica.org).
At the same time, the USDA reports that Americans waste 30% to 40% of our food supply. To combat food insecurity, it’s important to be resourceful with our food products and reallocate waste where we can. Much of the food that labeled as “waste” doesn’t actually need to be thrown away. Sometimes the box is slightly damaged. Sometimes it’s too close dated to be sold to retailers but is perfectly good if used within a week or two.
Fortunately, there are local organizations that are helping to combat food insecurity by reallocating food. CBW currently partners with Blessings of Hope, Building Bridges, The Columbia Food Bank, and Food Hub to help bring product from our warehouse to those in need. These organizations help to provide meals, food, clothing, and shelter to our local community and beyond; Blessings of Hope was instrumental in providing emergency relief to Texas during the winter power outages of 2021.
We are proud to be a part of this initiative to give back to our community and create a more sustainable future.
For more information on our food bank initiative, see Jeanne Mucha. For volunteer information, visit the sites below:
Blessings of Hope
The Columbia Food Bank
Food Hub
Building Bridges
Sources:
https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2019/overall/
https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs
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