Circular Table Break Down Part 1.
- May 26
- 3 min read
"You see trash, I see value" - Val Wimes
"X Billionaire could end World Hunger"
"People are starving overseas"
"People are starving in America"
"People lack access to healthy foods"
"I live in a food desert"
Comments we've probably all heard or even said at some point, but I've always thought, "What about the food going in the trash."
We pay to produce it. We pay to get it to the store. We pay to dispose of it (literally and environmentally). Last year it is estimated that the U.S. wastedaround 120 billion pounds of food, representing over $400 billion in lost value.
So I asked, "What can we do about it?"
And in 2024, I thought I would get the opportunity to solve it through my consulting firm at the time who had the City of Austin as a client for Community Resilience. The city didn't control any of the food system. Half the people who needed help didn't think help was for them. And salaries hadn't caught up to post-COVID prices for anyone without a corporate job. Long story short, it didn't happen with the City of Austin, but the curiosity never left.
LA STRONG
When crisis occurs, everyone tends to have each other's back a bit more than on the regular. All hands were on deck for a couple months leveraging social media, spreadsheets, a few new apps even, but I knew it would eventually slow. It always does. Money from all over was being redirected to fire relief, and then the opportunitycame.
I reached out to the funder and explained how I had a dormant nonprofit sitting on the shelf for a year, but I could register it in California the next day if they wanted to take a bet on a sustainable system leveraging surplus food, what most call food waste, and what California Senate Bill 1383 was already pointing toward.
I explained the opportunity: address the environment (methane is worse than carbon), explore a new workforce model, and find out whether this could be a real response to the food affordability crisis. I wanted to serve those who don't qualify for assistance but are still falling through the gaps.
I was clear: I wanted to utilize the food, not just redistribute it. That meant navigating more health and legal complexity. And receiving the maximum allotted amount as a technically new nonprofit was necessary to have the freedom and time to actually map the landscape.
While I waited on a reply, which was about six weeks, I didn't sit. I got to building out how it would be done and assembling the team to do it.
They said let's do it...went silent for another month...and then dropped the money all at once.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Food waste is a systems failure, not a behavior problem. I was intentional about not blaming individuals. Solving a behavior problem scares funders. Solving a systems problem attracts them.
Circularity isn't just an environmental idea — it's an economic one. Making sure things turn into other things creates value instead of waste. Just identify what and where the value lies.
Shoot your shot, but back it up. I tied the idea to existing legislation and research before I ever made the ask. Truly, fixing my eyes back on LA occurred once I saw SB 1383 passed in the California Senate.
Work in the quiet. I didn't wait for the green light. This time I knew it was going to happen.
One door closing isn't the answer. Austin wasn't the place. LA was...and it came with more money and time flexibility. If you care about it enough, space will open.
Assess the risk, then decide. I knew why others hadn't done this at scale. The reward was too big to ignore anyway. In the proposal, I planned for why someone may say no.
By the way, we had no issues even with managing 12 types of allergens at a given time.
If I was a billionaire, I'd put my money toward supporting those building infrastructure out of this leakage. Unfortunately, we aren't billionaires, but that doesn't mean we can't do this together. If you are able, please join us in supporting Sameritan's work here.
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