“Feeding The 5000” Event in New York Raises Awareness About Wasted Food

On Tuesday, in Union Square, New Yorkers were treated to 5,000 free meals in an event titled “Feeding the 5,000” meant to raise awareness about wasted food and ways to stop global hunger.

Many chefs in the city joined forces to cook dishes made from fresh Union Square Green Market produce that would have otherwise been thrown away.

Timothy Strain, a construction worker told NY Daily News, “It’s amazing how much food is wasted, it’s something people don’t think about.” International food justice group Feedback organized the event — which has been replicated across 30 cities. “We were able to serve exactly 5,000 portions,” said founder Tristam Stuart. “We literally prepped it perfectly.”

Tristam Stuart is also the author of “Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal” and founded Feedback after a one-time London event in 2009 turned into a movement. He added, “We’re destroying the environment just by producing food. This is a way of engaging the public. People are waking up to the problem. A world in which billions go hungry while the planet is dying is a world we can’t allow to continue any longer.”