According to the EPA, food waste makes up one-third of the waste in US landfills (2012). At the same time, the LA Times reported that, in LA county, the number of residents who struggled with hunger was over 1.7 million -- the highest hunger occurrence in the country (2009).

As a central part of the Los Angeles community, USC has the resources to both reduce the effects of poverty and minimize its food waste. We would like USC Hospitality, which manages campus dining halls, restaurants, and cafés, to partner with the Food Recovery Network to donate its excess food to local, non-profit homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

Currently, USC Hospitality managers are reluctant to participate in food recovery, but USC would actually be free of liability issues--the government (USDA) has laws in place to protect donors in order to promote food donation programs. We would like to show Hospitality that USC students, workers, and community members are interested in seeing USC engage in regular recovery and donation events. As USC heads toward increased environmental friendliness, USC Hospitality can play a big role in leadership and sustainability in our community.