In a country like the United States, million pounds of food are wasted every day. While the figures are staggering, it is ironic that there are still a handful of people who are hungry and the worst part of it is, these people are living in the same country as those who are wasting food.

Working closely in the state of New York specifically in the city of New York, City Harvest is a non-profit organization that is involved in food rescue and distribution. The group works under their tag line: “Rescuing food for the New York’s Hungry”. Food rescue is the practice of salvaging edible and palatable food before it gets to waste. These foods are primarily disposed by restaurants, grocery stores, food vendors and farmers markets mainly because they are no longer saleable. These could be a day old bread, a bruised apple or some scraps of meat and fish.

The organization serves as the world’s first food rescue organization and is the only one in New York City. Every day, more than 126,000 pounds of food are collected by the group and are distributed to more than 400 communities they serve. Since the group’s inception in 1982, they have collected more than 465 million pounds of salvageable food. More than 1 million New Yorkers benefit from the services provided by the organization. While businesses are doing their share of helping out, they are also able to benefit from the services provided by City Harvest, in that they no longer need to worry about the disposal of these products.

While the noveau riche thrives in the city, there are still those who are fighting hunger. In a city branded as “the concrete jungle where dreams are made of”, there are still people who are begging for their daily meal. It is in this picture that City Harvest makes a difference in the lives of these people.