Small Scale Solutions

LOCAL HEROES: SCHOOL DOES TAKE HOME MEALS

This is a brilliant example of Small Scale Solutions that we don’t see enough of.  Cultivate is a small, grass-roots non-profit organization that collects the unused food from the local school districts and local caterers and packages it into frozen food meals.

Frozen food for kids
Group takes left over food and makes frozen take home for kids

Some members of the community were concerned that while students got breakfast and lunch at school during the week, they often went hungry during the weekends.  So they did a simple thing – they solved the problem.  At their local level, at a size they could handle.  Its a small program – 20 students get a back pack with 8 frozen meals every Friday to take home.  No, it doesn’t solve world hunger.  But is solves the hunger of 20 local kids and their families.

Original story: School district turns unused cafeteria food into take-home meals for kids

Why aren’t we seeing more of these simple solutions?  Because programs that recycle perfectly prepared, healthy food is a conflict of interest to food manufacturers who get them shut down.

By keeping people focused on a global level, the process of solving world hunger is slow and ponderous and food distribution stays in the hands of manufacturers and politicians.

We need more local heroes.