According to FeedingAmerica.org, in Massachusetts, 617,380 people are struggling with hunger – and of them 138,760 are children. 1 in 10 children struggle with hunger.

These are mind boggling numbers because odds are you don’t think there are hungry persons or children near you in Greater Boston. But there are. Very near.

A household who cannot provide proper nutrition for themselves relies on foodbanks, World Central Kitchen, YMCA, Boys & Girls clubs and numerous other great organizations that offer help. However, a closer look reveals that even if the household does have some limited budget, say $4-6 per person on a meal, they don’t have easy access to nutritious options. That price range often relegates them to fast foods and other processed foods, which are low on nutrients and offer mostly empty calories and saturated fat. This exacerbates a problem of bad nutrition and, overtime, spills into other health issues.

Food banks and organizations, while doing amazing work, cannot be the only solution. Did you even wonder why don’t more food operators or restaurants offer specially-priced meals for struggling households? Or why are there not enough “buy one, and we’ll donate a plate to a local aid organization” programs?

One answer is food waste. Restaurants and other typically food operators have razor thin margins because of high overhead, inefficient delivery setups and food waste. In the past thousands of pounds of perfectly good food was thrown out in restaurants across Greater Boston nightly. Things have gotten better with new start ups that pick up such foods and reroute them to a needed destination.

We believe that food operators should strive for zero food waste policy. This would help them preserve their margins and also allow them to provide direct aid to those in most need.

We are very interested in working with any organization to bring truly inexpensive (under $5) and truly nutritious meals to the communities that need them most.

Together we can end hunger in Greater Boston!