Phil came home last night with two large baskets of apples he had picked from our neighbors down the street. My husband has noticed that a lot of people let their fruit trees just rot and never use the food provided. He will proceed to knock on their doors and ask if we can take the apples if they are not using them. This waste bugs him and it got me thinking. As I went through the process of cutting the apples and putting them in the crockpot and another batch in the stockpot, I started to think about how wasteful we are in this country. We go to restaurants and are given such huge portions that a lot of the food is just thrown out. There are gallons upon gallons of apples just rotting into the earth in my town and the same goes for berries, grapes, and other fruits. There are farms that throw away food because they cannot sell it to the sensitive consumer who will turn up their nose at the slightest blemish (myself included-I am learning). Grocery stores throw away, they do not donate, bread and other goods because they get more money back through credit than if they gave it to charity or the poor family shopping in the store. All of this is so sad. Then came my idea.
I thought, why not go around town and ask these folks if we can have the produce they never intend to use in order to can it. At first I thought that we could donate it to local charities, but soon discovered that thanks to insane food safety laws and a few bad people, most companies will not accept homemade canned food. Not to be deterred, I then realized that canned goods can be sold at my local farmer's market. If I could get a few donations from people I know, then I could cover my start up costs. I will need cans, lids, caps, and some other canning equipment. I could then sell my wares and donate the profits to charities who help feed the hungry. So I may not be able to feed the poor with my tasty recipes, but I can at least send money from my little business to help those who are starving. I could send nearly 100%. Overhead would be low and would just be supplies. Perhaps I could get some help canning from friends and volunteers. I would need to develop a repoire with local farmers and neighbors to get free or low cost produce. Since my husband and I do not own our home, there is no way to expand our garden to include a business. What little we grow is to feed us.
I have a lot of research to do. I could possibly be up and running by next year's farmer's market season. I am sharing my idea with all of you because it would be great for other people to do around the country. There is so much food out there that is wasted. The great thing about canning is that you just cut the bad parts out of the produce and use the rest. We have to find ways to beat the ridiculous system, so that we can help our starving brothers and sisters. Look around your community. I will post updates as I work through this idea. God be with you.
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