California Climate Action Corps fellows Tarun Sonti and Breylen Ammen work with Zero Waste Silicon Valley to reduce food waste. Each week they meet with our partners to collect boxes of food to load the truck and take back to our community market. Food is then sorted and stocked for SJCC+CS corpsmembers and staff to enjoy.
35% of food in the U.S. goes to waste. Tarun and Breylen work together to alleviate this issue in the San Jose community. By giving back food to the community, we not only reduce waste but help combat the hunger crisis we face. In this way, our food rescue efforts benefit not only the environment but the community as well. Tarun and Breylen are able to directly see the positive impact they make on the community through the fellowship.
As Tarun states, we “live in a country where we produce more than enough food to feed everyone. However, there are still people in our country who are hungry.” The costly production of food wastes water, fertilizer, land, and more. It far outweighs the amount of food being consumed, which makes the issue of food insecurity all the more frustrating. Large quantities of food end up in landfill rather than in the hands of people who need it. Zero Waste Silicon Valley aims to alleviate this issue and close the gap between food waste and food insecurity. In doing so, we are able to make a positive impact on our community. This is made possible with the help of our California Climate Action Corps fellows!