Industry experts estimated supermarkets on average discard $2,300 per store worth of out-of-date food every day. Almost all of this food is still consumable but may have a limited shelf life left. In most states, it is not illegal to sell product after the sell by date, but stores don’t do so out of concern that their image of carrying fresh products will be damaged. Most stores, in fact, pull items 2 to 3 days before the sell-by date.

Hunger, food insecurity, and poverty are all inextricably linked in our community and we are living in times when it is getting harder and harder for families to make ends meet. In Cook county, 800,000 people and children will not know if they will have a meal today. Hunger doesn't respect boundaries, the number of people, including children who will go hungry in Dupage county is over 100,000.

The solution to both problems is simple. Taking the food that would, otherwise be thrown out, to the people who need it most. By getting the available bread and food donations to the different PADs throughout the Chicago-land area, at least the homeless do not have to be hungry too. A further indication that an organization like River of Light is filling a need in the fight against hunger.