Amidst the ongoing struggles faced by numerous families to afford groceries, a well-known charity is under scrutiny for discarding substantial quantities of food. The News 4 I-Team has obtained images depicting the wastage, a portion of which was reportedly funded by taxpayers.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio, entrusted with providing food to seniors and those in need, receives millions in funding from the city and the county. However, a former employee has come forward, alleging that he was instructed on multiple occasions to dispose of pallets of still-edible food into dumpsters.
Thousands of seniors, including individuals like Raymond Ramirez, depend on Meals On Wheels for the delivery of nutritionally balanced meals to their homes and senior centers.
“It’s a good program, especially for seniors because it’s a healthy meal; they watch the calories, they watch the sodium,” remarked Ramirez.
Disturbing images surfaced, revealing heaps of discarded meals, seemingly fresh fruits, and milk cartons thrown away in late October, more than two weeks before the expiration date.
“That’s atrocious, that shouldn’t be happening. That’s a sin,” expressed Ramirez.
Joe Gloria, a former Meals On Wheels employee who captured the photos, was terminated by the organization last month. Gloria asserts that his intention is not revenge but rather a response to the discomfort of regularly being instructed to dispose of edible food.
“Their food is good, but when they decide to throw all that food away, why? Why when you can give it to the homeless or the shelters,” questioned Gloria.
Seeking an explanation, the I-Team approached Meals On Wheels, where Chief Strategy and Development Officer Forrest Myane shed light on the situation.
Reporter Jaie Avila inquired, “Why would your organization throw out food like that?”
Myane responded, “Because of the population we serve, who are elderly, who have lots of different health and medical issues, food safety is our utmost priority.”
She explained that food is discarded every week or so due to exposure to unsafe temperatures or surpassing the expiration date.
“Are you saying all that food was bad?” Avila asked.
“I would say that most of it was bad, I can’t speak to every single item that was in the dumpster. The bananas did look good, and as we discussed, the bananas are kind of a mystery to me,” said Myane.
Regarding the discarded milk, Myane clarified that it was due to cartons falling on the floor and sustaining damage. The charity, according to her, does not provide expiring food to shelters or food banks, but it is usually offered to employees to prevent wastage.
“We’re always going to go with that expiration date to keep our clients safe; typically we would give that to staff, it seems that on that day we didn’t, but that’s our typical practice,” Myane concluded.