Hunger has occurred throughout history because of failed crops, war, extreme poverty, drought, etc. Often, it was a case of the population outstripping the available food supply.

Although approximately one out of eight Americans experiences food insecurity today, there is a more than an adequate supply of food potentially available. However, according to the US Department of Agriculture, we throw away a pound of food per person per day in this country, or well over 100 billion pounds of food per year. Some estimate this to be more than enough to totally eliminate hunger in America. You can view a thought provoking photograph from the New York Times of what a the family of four's monthly share of lost food is.

Some of the food is not harvestable (severe weather, disease, pests, etc), some is lost in storage (insects, mold, etc) or processing, some due to packaging/transportation problems, some becomes spoiled beyond use, etc. Additionally, some of the lost food comes from leftovers in restaurants and homes and some is blemished food that is safe to eat but possibly no longer visually appealing, such as an overripe banana.

Not included in these statistics is the volume of produce discarded by many millions of backyard gardeners because their plants produced far more fruits and vegetables than they could possibly use, preserve or give away. It is not uncommon for tomato plants to bear 20 to 40 or more fruit each, and the typical gardener often grows numerous plants. Many other crops such as peppers, cucumbers, squash, apples, and peaches etc. also produce abundant harvest.

Many backyard gardeners reluctantly leave their excess crop to rot in the garden, some compost it and some simply throw it in the garbage (do not do this as this increases global warming by producing methane while decomposing).

Sustainable West Milford's Ample Harvest program was created to enable the gardeners in the West Milford Community Garden to share some of their bounty with neighbors who do not have access to fresh produce at their food pantry.

We encourage anyone with a backyard garden to visit www.AmpleHarvest.org to find a nearby food pantry they can donate food to.

Hunger in West Milford may never be fully eliminated, but garden plot by garden plot, we are reducing it.