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Willing Hands releases Climate Action Plan

Eagle Times Staff
NORWICH, Vt. — Willing Hands, the Norwich-based nonprofit whose mission is to end hunger by reducing food waste, has completed a plan to double its net-negative carbon footprint by 2026.

According to an analysis by researchers in the Dartmouth Environmental Studies Department, Willing Hands’ food recovery and gleaning programs are currently preventing the emission of over 1 million pounds of CO2-equivalent annually. The organization developed a Climate Action Plan to double that impact to 2 million pounds of CO2 annually.

“Growing the climate impact of our work is not only good for the planet; it is good for our neighbors,” said Executive Director Gabe Zoerheide. “Expanding our food recovery efforts will enable us to deliver more nourishing food to the community that we serve. This dual benefit is especially important since the impacts of climate change, including food insecurity, are experienced more acutely by the most vulnerable populations that we serve.”

More than one third of food produced in the United States is never eaten. This means that all of the energy and resources that went into creating that food are wasted, and it releases methane in the landfill. Meanwhile, high food prices have driven a record number of visitors to food shelves and other social service organizations that provide free, healthy food.

Willing Hands bridges this gap by recovering surplus nutritious food from farms, grocery stores, wholesalers and bakeries, and delivering it year-round to more than 80 locations across Vermont and New Hampshire.

According to Project Drawdown, reducing food waste is one of the top three most important ways to reduce carbon emissions, with the potential to mitigate more carbon than the transition to electric cars. Work is already underway to implement the Climate Action Plan, including reducing direct emissions from gasoline, propane and refrigerant.

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