Across the US, good-to-eat food is being dumped down drains, left to rot, or thrown out. Meanwhile, grocery stores are struggling to keep some products in stock, and food banks are grappling with a surge of out-of-work Americans. How is that possible? 1/ wired.trib.al/ARPn3C4
About half of the nation's food is consumed in group settings like restaurants and schools. With more people eating at home, a farm would ideally just redirect its output. It's not that easy. Distributors are struggling to find their product a new home before it spoils. 2/
Owyhee Produce, an onion, asparagus, and mint farm, is a victim of the current dilemma. More than 60% of Owyhee’s onions typically end up in food service. This month, the operation dumped about 1 million onions. No one would buy them. 3/
The problems start with packaging. Many packers have bulk bagging machines designed for restaurants. They can’t easily pivot to grocery stores sizes. Even outfits with smaller bagging machines may only have a few of them, so less produce gets bagged, and more goes to waste. 4/
Some products don’t sell well outside of a restaurant. Tomatoes make their way into ketchup, soup, and pizza sauce eaten outside the home. Chicken wing prices have even dipped, as the marquee product of March Madness missed its star turn. 5/
Longstanding relationships—and in some cases, contracts—with distribution partners also play a role. Breaking from those channels can be challenging. Dog Star Hops, a hop farm in Michigan, spent years building relationships with local pubs. Now, those pubs are closed. 6/
Efforts are underway to help ease the pain. The Dept. of Agriculture says it will buy $3 billion worth of products from farmers and distribute them to food banks and nonprofits. Some restaurants are helping suppliers by selling their products in makeshift, in-store markets. 7/
Still, such moves help only on the margin. The people who plant, slaughter, process, pack, and move America’s food aren’t sure what’s next 8/ wired.trib.al/ARPn3C4
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