During the holiday season, many of us buy, and eat, way more food than we need. We may not think about all the food we waste, but a group of tweens, working with SheKnows Hatch Kids for a campaign for the Ad Council, have uncovered plenty of waste and are becoming 'food warriors' because of their newfound knowledge.
Food waste is a growing problem in the United States, with 40% of food wasted in households across the country. SaveTheFood.com estimates that 20% of the food we buy is never eaten, and 90% of us throw food away too soon.
To bring awareness to this issue, SheKnows Media and Ad Council partnered to create a new Food Waste Warriors video. In the three-and-a-half-minute video, teens and tweens who are part of SheKnows’ #HatchKids initiative – a digital storytelling and media literacy program for kids and their parents – captured video of food being wasted in their own households. The video is ripe with funny yet poignant and insightful moments when the kids confront their parents about food being wasted, and how they would resolve the problem.
One kid finds a full carton of walnuts, and when he confronts his mother regarding why they were in the trash, she said it was because she didn't serve them because she thought somebody in the house might be allergic, though none were. Another shows off her grandmother's "show turkey" that is barely eaten.
All end up being more informed about the food that is wasted and many worked to find uses for nearly expired foods, and more proclaimed themselves "food warriors" to help people understand the problem and search for solutions.
SheKnows Media: Ad Council 'Hatch Kids / Food Waste'
Jen Denton, SVP Programming
Jordan Boswell, Community Programs Coordinator
Jeff Musolino, Sr. Producer
