TWO MILLION PEOPLE in Australia struggle to put food on the table....
While $8 BILLION worth of food is wasted each year....
At a profound cost to the ENVIRONMENT....

And THE PROBLEM appears to be GROWING: of SecondBite’s community food program partners EXPERIENCED AN INCREASE IN DEMAND in the previous 12 months 80%.....

http://secondbite.org/sites/default/files/secondbite_ar2014_web.pdf

Personally I am tired of what I call "food snobs" who live in Australia. They are not necessarily rich, these people are people who lazily (for example) leave huge plates of food at a local food court for example. So many times, when I'm in a food court, nearly full plates of food can be seen all over the place.

Considering two million people in Australia struggle to put food on the table, how do we get these selfish, "food snobs", who see food as a luxury out of this throw away mindset?

It is hard to believe that 2 million Australians are finding it hard to get enough food. That's a lot of people, and there is a lot of guff put out by the media and agitators.

Firstly Nathan, to put things into prospective, you would first need to take these 2 million people and remove those from the list who engage in the taking of elicit drugs, grog, cigs and gambling before you can really determine just how many go without food, through no fault of their own.

Secondly, consumers as a whole today demand perfection in almost everything they buy, from fresh fruit, to meat, seafood, just about everything so the supermarkets, the main providers of fresh food tend to throw products away after a certain time, regardless of the appearance.

Thirdly, use by dates see millions of dollars worth of food wasted simply because people are scared to eat something that is just a few days out of date.

About the only thing that will change this is a depression, as people as a whole need a reality check to make them realize the excesses they take for granted are not the norm

Sorry NathanJ, I won't accept there are many people going hungry other than through their own fault.

If they smoke, drink, run a car or chose to live in an area of very high rents, they have no one to blame but themselves.

If they chose to live the high life, rather than establish themselves with the things they would need in retirement, that was their choice, & should shut up & pay the price of that choice.

Many retirees have moved to places like Howard, Jandowae or Cootamundra, where the cost of housing, to buy or rent, is much lower. This helps pensioners, but also helps keep these old towns alive.

Those who chose to stay in the big smoke in retirement have made their own choice. If that means food is short, so be it.

Nathan, I often leave uneaten food on the plate if I'm grabbing something at a food court or similar place. This is because it is nearly impossible to get small serves. I love muffins but I never buy them any more because now they are gigantic - I just dont want to eat that much.
Ask the staff why you can't buy smaller servings and they just shrug, or say, well we can wrap up half and you can take it home.
I don't think this is anything to do with food snobbery. It seems to be a strange vicious circle. Caterers think people want big serves, but people buy them because they don't feel they have much choice.
Of course, the uneaten food left behind may also mean that what may look good at the food stand turns out to be really awful.
Than goodness for the sushi train, where you can choose as little or as much as you want, in small packets. I've never seen food left uneaten at these establishments.

Maybe the discussion is better directed at the very positive things that SecondBite does and the products that find their way to those who need support.

See here for instance,
http://secondbite.org/coles-community-food

There are also community gardens and the growing advice they can give. It is so easy though with an over-abundance of information on the Net.

It interests me that one only has to go back one generation to see people growing at least some of the easily grown greens and tomatoes that help the budget.

If only Victoria's education department could focus on needed life skills like that instead of demanding that children imagine they have no genitals etc.

NathamJ,

If brick bats are needed, perhaps direct them at the lazy who do not get off their behind to care for a bit of soil or a balcony planter box and who refuse to prepare a meal from basics.

It is easy to make tasty food from dried beans for example. I meet plenty of creaking, pain-racked seniors who eke out their diet with home grown and have the foresight to soak a cupful of dried peas.

The self-absorbed, 'Me, Me, Me' generations are already costing the taxpayer a bomb for early onset diabetes. Not funny, they will be losing legs one day and soon.