Blog

Digest this:

• 1 in 6 children go hungry each day
• 11% of households are food insecure
• 60% of children from low-income families say they come to school hungry each day
• 25% of all veterans who fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are food insecure
• The number of college students facing hunger is skyrocketing
• And yet, 35% of the food produced in the US every year is wasted

With over 40 million people in the US and roughly 30% of the global population struggling against food insecurity, this is undeniably a global crisis that can no longer be silenced. That’s why we’re pleased to partner with Move For Hunger, a non-profit organization working to change the outcome of our hungry populations, providing meals to families, children, and seniors within these vulnerable communities. By mobilizing the relocation industry to reduce food waste, the organization’s mission is to reduce the need for emergency assistance that food banks provide.

Behind the Move For Hunger Mission

Having grown up within the moving service industry, Adam Lowy saw first-hand the sheer volume of stuff left behind after each move. This included unopened, non-perishable food, quite often left at the curb, destined for the landfill. This bothered Adam enough to take action, so in 2009, Adam and his family started asking customers if they would like to donate their leftover food to the local food bank. After only a month, he had collected over 300 pounds of food.

“If one company could make this kind of impact, what could an entire network of moving companies do?”

The movement that started with a family-run moving company in New Jersey, is gaining formidable momentum, with partners across all 50 states and Canada embracing the Move For Hunger model.

While food banks are a critical source of food to many food-insecure populations, a major hurdle faced by these facilities is arranging (and the associated expense of) transportation of food. Move For Hunger’s unique partnerships help to bridge this gap, providing access to trucks and drivers nationwide to divert food waste while helping to feed their communities.

Speaking of Food Waste…

Rather ironically, while millions across the country struggle to access the food they need, we’re also battling a food waste epidemic. The US wastes more food than any other country in the world, and according to the EPA, food waste takes up more space than anything else in our landfills. This waste adds to our daily land, water, and air pollution, and has been linked to climate change.

Each year, roughly 33 million Americans will move. By eliminating food waste from the relocation process – offering the opportunity for people to donate their leftover food – we’re keeping it out of the landfill, making it accessible to hungry populations.

We’re #WeichertProud to support Move For Hunger’s mission, which touches two of our pledges as an organization; our commitment to pursuing sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternatives, and supporting meaningful causes in communities around the world. To date, our partnership has yielded over 2.9 million pounds of food, translating to over 2.4 million meals for those most in need. And we’re ready to do more.

We’re Ready to MOVE.

Through the month of June, Weichert Workforce Mobility and Nelson Westerberg are proudly sponsoring the Move 2 Fight Hunger Challenge. From June 1 – July 5, our colleagues, partners, families and friends are lacing up our freshest kicks and converting our activities into meals. We’re stretched, limber, and highly motivated to help to reach the goal of providing 75,000 meals through our collective efforts.

Food is a fundamental human right, and we are honored to join Move For Hunger in the fight for less waste and more mouths fed.

We are all one people sharing one planet where enough food is produced to feed 1.5 times the world’s total population. And yet every day millions go hungry. These facts are indicative of a solvable problem. Weichert Workforce Mobility’s partnership with Move For Hunger is all about working toward a solution to the unacceptable problem of hunger, and clearly demonstrates Weichert’s commitment to social issues; a critical component of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitment. I believe that we are all on this planet to love and support one another for the greater good, and I am proud to be a part of the solution through our partnership with Move For Hunger.

William Vogt Director of Operations, Weichert Move Network

Care to join us as we run, walk, dance, and cartwheel our way through June? Register here to join Weichert Workforce Mobility in the Move 2 Fight Hunger Challenge or go here to learn more about Move For Hunger.