Our social petition is called “Saving Food Saves Lives.” It is based on helping the homeless population around Boston, MA. Every year, the US throws away one-third of all the food it produces, wasting around 133 billion pounds of food. There are many homeless people in Boston who loiter on the streets with signs asking for money, food, clothing, etc. The issue we are addressing is that many restaurants around the Boston area throw away extra food at the end of the night. This is an issue because there are people starving and in need of this food. Unfortunately, many restaurants do not donate their leftover food due to the government’s health and safety standards and because donating will not benefit the restaurant by making any profit. 

Donating leftovers could impact the lives of homeless people because they would not have to search for food every day. We are petitioning that these food companies donate their extra food to the homeless population instead of throwing it away at the end of the night. Restaurants could donate their food to homeless shelters, food banks, etc. This could be organized by restaurant staff each night. If they usually throw out their food, they could put it in closed containers instead, so it is ready to be donated. This could then be taken over by staff or volunteers who could take the containers of food and bring them to a place in the community that is easily accessible to the homeless population. Doing this would greatly help nourish people in need and could help save lives. It would be a resource for the homeless in Boston to use to keep themselves nourished.

By signing this petition, you would be helping create awareness of the homeless population in Boston, MA, and how difficult it is for them to be adequately nourished. Signing this petition would help restaurants become aware of the need for food donations from their leftover food and how much it could affect the lives of others.