W.V. Legislature Considers Bill To Cut School Food Waste, Ease Hunger

A bill wending its way through the West Virginia legislative process will allow distribution of unused school food to students. The bill, which just passed the House of Delegates, is modeled after a nationwide initiative known as Share Table that has the approval of the USDA as a tool to reduce food waste. If enacted, the measure would allow schools to work with county health departments and the USDA to come up with guidelines to distribute unused food to students or have it collected and donated to charitable organizations. More than 79,000 children in the state lived with food insecurity in 2017. The measure now goes to the state Senate for consideration.