BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Food insecurity is an issue that many people in Kern County struggle with, which is why various local organizations have partnered together to create a program that takes food from schools and restaurants and gives it back to the community.
Each day 116,000 people in Kern County don’t know where they’re going to get their next meal from. It’s a heartbreaking fact. So much so that it’s inspired an entire community of organizations to come together and tackle this issue, creating a program that now has been able to donate 1 million pounds of food.
Anything that is unopened and still edible is sorted into bins which are later picked up by drivers throughout the week and distributed back into the community.
The organization, Waste Hunger Not Food started in 2018 as a partnership between the Bakersfield City School District, Kern County Public Health, and the Open Door Network.
“We went to the Open Door Network and asked ‘Hey, can you provide us with drivers for this program,'" explained Brynn Carrigan, the director of the Kern County Public Health Department. "It takes a village and that's exactly what this program, you know really is, it’s a village coming together to help our community.”
Carrigan says addressing these chronic issues in the community has been very fulfilling to her and she is excited to see the program expand.
According to the organization, 30% of all food products in America are wasted taking up 21% of our landfill volume. Driver Guadalupe Gutierrez understands these statistics on a more personal level. She was one of the first drivers to start with the program and she says she knows what it's like to be both homeless and hungry.
“How small the program was and how big it is now is just — it’s amazing. It’s amazing.”
Program organizers say they are proud of students and everyone else who has contributed toward this effort. Their next goal is to expand the program and reach more of the outlying communities.
