Do you know what makes us crazier than not having enough food? Wasting it! Waste isn't just happening on a private level; it is happening by the ton in the public sector, and it's horrifying.
According the the makers of a new app called PareUp, 30% of food is wasted in the U.S. Wondering how it's actually wasted? How about supermarkets throwing away $15 billion dollars of produce a year because of "overstocked displays", and (be still our hearts) esthetic imperfections. That's bruising, people. Throwing away an apple because it has a ding in it. Seriously, I (AMY) am going to let you sit with that for a minute. Apparently, restaurants and private households are wasting almost 86 billion pounds of food waste. The grand total of all this waste? $165 Billion in food goes unused.
IN NYC, 6.5 million pounds of food is thrown away every day. PareUp is trying to change that. The app will be the first of it's kind to coordinate businesses with excess food and people that want to eat that food, together. Check out the PareUp site, and sign up to know when the app is live in NYC.
Those of us who are lucky enough to have a garden, or a farmer's market handy, know that food doesn't have to look like a magazine photo to taste good. In fact, most of us know that bananas with spots taste better, and an apple with a bruise needs to be enjoyed earlier than one without; not thrown away. It's about being more connected to your plate, and knowing that real food, like models, do not resemble the unblemished perfection that advertisers would have us believe.
What makes PareUp special, is that instead of just showing where the nearest market is located, it helps with two huge problems. The first is wasted food by the ton, and the second is budget strapped people who don't care if their fruit isn't perfect looking. It's still perfectly delicious.
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