As Published in The Courier Post – 1:48 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2017

Re: A little food for thought about food waste – 

Food waste is truly an incredible global issue that our world faces today. The author of this commentary, Eve Penuel, did a fantastic job of illustrating the staggering statistics that surround how this problem occurs, who it affects, and how we can change our outcomes by understanding those facts.

Her citation of the fact that over 200,000 residents struggle with food insecurity in South Jersey alone is alarming, and something that we as the Food Bank of South Jersey work hard to diminish by sourcing innovative solutions for bringing more food to more people and creating sustainable solutions for healthy living resolutions.

One method for doing this is through a collaborative partnership with Campbell’s that takes unwanted peaches and turns them into a healthy, shelf-sustainable product that works for our community at multiple levels. An effort that began in 2012, the FBSJ executive team was touring local farms and found there was a surplus of unwanted peaches that were perfectly fine for consumption, but not perfect for their consumers’ needs. These unwanted peaches were being thrown away at local landfills and costing the farmers thousands of dollars in dumping fees.

We decided that we needed to change that.

Just Peachy Salsa was created to use this excess food waste to create a product that could generate a revenue source for feeding more people in more areas of our community. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this product go directly back to the people we serve, including the 55,900 children and 23,500 seniors struggling with food insecurity in South Jersey.

Available at many grocery stores and food markets throughout the area, Just Peachy Salsa provides a local solution for the food waste problem that plagues our planet. As we continue to source more and new methods that help our community, we rely on the important efforts of people like Eve to communicate the facts that surround this great issue.

Lauren Hann

Senior manager of communications

Food Bank of South Jersey, Pennsauken