Ashley Stanley started Lovin' Spoonfuls to match surplus food with hungry people (CS Monitor)

[pinto]

Ashley Stanley started Lovin' Spoonfuls to match surplus food with hungry people

Lovin' Spoonfuls, a nonprofit food rescue group in Boston, strives to remove a glaring kink in the food chain and bridge the gap between waste and want.

By Noelle Swan, Staff writer / January 17, 2014

Ashley Stanley's jaw dropped the first time she walked into the back room of a supermarket. All around her, mountains of eggplants, potatoes, and onions littered the concrete floors.

None of the produce was spoiled, yet the staff told her that it had already taken its turn on the produce department shelves and would soon be tossed in the dumpster.

Without hesitating, she asked if she could have the produce. Then she loaded up her car and drove her bounty to the Pine Street Inn, one of Boston's largest homeless shelters, which serves 1,600 meals to homeless people every day.

That was in December 2009. Since then, Ms. Stanley has diverted 900,000 pounds of fresh food that otherwise would have been tossed out to Boston-area food pantries, homeless shelters, and domestic violence safe houses.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2014/0117/Ashley-Stanley-started-Lovin-Spoonfuls-to-match-surplus-food-with-hungry-people

[Curmudgeoness]

1. What a great organization!

Thanks for putting a spotlight on them.

I have never been in the back storeroom of a grocery store, so I am really shocked to hear of all the waste of perfectly good food. This is so irresponsible that I cannot comprehend it. Then I go further and think......the produce that is a little beyond useful for humans would have been fed to the livestock years ago, and now we raise food specifically for the livestock as well.

It is shameful.

[pinto]

2. Good point. A lot of the produce, if "edgy" for home use could go to livestock.

And the worst could go to composts. All could be used, it seems.