Have you ever thrown away a half eaten hot dog? Or poured the juice that you took two sips of down the drain? Many people in the U.S. and  even the Academy community throw away food without a second thought. Common knowledge says wasting food is irresponsible through parental remarks such as, “What do you mean you don’t like your chicken? Starving children would give anything to have a bite of that” and the unforgettable chant from Glen Helen: “Wasted food! No. No! Wasted food! No.No!” Although the topic of wasting food may seem overplayed, it impacts the lives of people worldwide.

According to World Hunger, 925 million people went hungry in 2010. Of those people, 578 million came from Asia and 276 million from Africa. In the United States alone, 48.8 million Americans lived in food-insecure households, a third of which were children.

Although Sage Dining Service does not keep track of how much food is thrown out, spending a few minutes watching people take their plates to the food disposal area shows the magnitude of this wastefulness. Some plates look untouched, with food that could go to the hungry rather than the garbage disposal.

Hunger touches our daily lives more often than we think. More than 26% of Ohioan households cannot afford enough food or are at risk for malnutrition. 1.4 million people in Ohio alone rely on food pantries.

While the problem of hunger is massive, we can all contribute in small ways. In school, students can mind their portion sizes when serving themselves. Start out with a little, and if you are still hungry, go back and get more. This will reduce the amount of food wasted. The same rules should apply at home.

If you want to be more involved in the community, volunteer work at local food pantries and soup kitchens is also a good way to help.

Written by Sarah Fornshell’15

Graphic by Connie Zhang’14