In a world where 1 in 3 go hungry, over 30% of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.
For most of us in the U.S. this waste happens in the kitchen; a pepper gets moldy on our counter, meat goes bad in the fridge, uneaten dinner tossed in the trash. But for millions of people living in the developing world the majority of food waste occurs around harvest season. In fact, estimates show that small-scale and subsistence farmers lose between 30-70% of their yields to spoilage every year. These crops, and the money made from the sell thereof, are meant to last farmers and their families through the dry planting season and into the next harvest.
However, an overabundance in the market during harvest season, combined with a lack of capacity to preserve the life of their produce results in what is referred to as the lean season, a dangerous period of time when the food and profits from the harvest have been used up and people struggle with poverty, malnutrition, and other afflictions stemming from a lack of food security. These challenges have been made exponentially more difficult to overcome in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic which has further limited the ability of small-scale farmers to access the resources they need to sustain their farms and families.
Founded in Fort Worth, Texas in 2019, Preserve International exists to minimize the burden of seasonal poverty through the provision of innovative, rurally-minded technology and training to reduce post-harvest crop loss. Staying away from added chemicals and preservatives, we utilize food dehydration, water-bath canning, and improved grain storage techniques to preserve the life of produce from days to months, and even years. This not only allows farmers to preserve enough food for their families to last through the lean season, but also provides them with a constant source of income through the sale of preserved foods year-round.
Acknowledging the disproportionate effects of poverty and hunger on women, as well as the seemingly insurmountable odds faced by female farmers throughout the developing world, we seek to empower women in the agricultural sector not only through food preservation, but by providing job and educational opportunities as well as facilitating grassroots support networks to help women thrive.
With growing levels of acute food insecurity resulting from the COVID19 pandemic it is more crucial than ever to empower small-scale farmers with tools and resources to overcome and rebuild. We hope you will join us this May for a fun night supporting our important work in East Africa!
Cocktails for a Cause benefitting Preserve International
When: May 6th from 6-8pm
Where: Petroleum Club of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, let’s come for a cocktail competition benefitting the work of Preserve International! Our celebrity bartenders, Jeff Jordan, Joey Tran & L.A. Moncrief, will be serving up their signature cocktail creations from 6-8pm. It will be up to you to decide who’s drink reigns supreme all while supporting Preserve International’s hunger fighting operations in Yumbe, Uganda.
Tickets can be purchased through our website, www.preserveinternational.org/events
Please reach out to Elizabeth Jordan-Flight with any questions at elizabeth@preserveinternational.org .
