Fast Food Waste

Dunkin Donuts throws out a significant amount of baked goods each and
every day. While these foods may be unhealthy, they can still go to provide food for
someone who doesn't have it. Panera Bread unloads thousands of loaves of bread each
week that have been left unpurchased. Delicious Orchards throws away pies, cakes,
and other pastries at the end of each day. World hunger is a serious problem, and there
are companies that are throwing away millions of pounds of leftover foods every single
year. SDG indicator 2 aims to achieve food security and end world hunger, and this is
one of the best places to start with that. Donating food not only reduces waste, but also
paints the companies in a good light. Any public reputation is a good public reputation,
and the exposure fast food companies will get from creating programs to donate their
unused food will prove to be of astronomical value to its investors and shareholders.
Companies must set up a system where food that is to be donated is
check at the end of each night and packaged properly into delivery boxes. These boxes
would then be taken to a food shelter location which would then be able to distribute
those items to the community around it, saving hundreds from dreadful starvation and
malnutrition. While there may be concerns regarding the health and wellness
department of the foods, this can be addressed by proper systems in place to check the
foods donated at each stage for quality. The benefits highly outweigh the work and effort
it would take to implement this solution. Hungry mouths would be fed in any community
with a fast food location or a restaurant. Stakeholders would be able to measure the
benefit of such a system using metrics such as social media engagement, PR statuses,
volume of foods donated, and the potential tax write offs the companies could receive
as an incentive to set up a properly managed food donation program.