I work at a food bank. We're getting more produce because of the cyclospora outbreak.
A Seattle food bank is receiving an influx of produce donations, including salad greens, due to a cyclospora outbreak that has made retailers hesitant to sell certain items. The development director notes that consumer fear often leads to perfectly good food being diverted from grocery shelves to food banks.
Why it matters
This demonstrates the intersection of food safety scares, retail waste, and the role of food banks in managing supply chain disruptions.
One Seattle food bank has seen an increase in produce offerings amid the cyclospora outbreak. Bloomberg/Getty Images Taylor Farms began recalling its iceberg lettuce amid the cyclospora outbreak. One food bank said it has accepted more greens and other produce that retailers aren't selling. It shows the lasting impact of contamination scares, one worker there said. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Robbin Peterson, the development director at the West Seattle Food Bank in Seattle. Peterson spoke with Business Insider on Tuesday, two days after the US Food and Drug Administration said a test result tying iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms to the cyclospora outbreak was a " false positive ." Taylor Farms did not respond to a request for comment on this essay. A big part of what we do here is "grocery rescue."
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