This is a deviation from my normal blog posts describing my adventures traveling the world, but I thought you all might want to read about it.

My friend Daniel Perry entered the Dell Innovation Competition, where contestants must propose a creative plan to tackle a pressing social issue. The top 25 ideas voted for online will go on to the next round. The three finalists will compete live on May 7 in Austin, Texas and the grand prize winner will receive $50,000 to make the idea a reality.

Daniel’s idea is for Food2.org, an online tool that will match non-profits feeding low-income individuals with the produce from groceries, markets, and farms that would otherwise go to waste.

Since a large part of my site is dedicated to promoting a nutritious, vegetable based diet (and helping others to gain access to delicious veggie food while traveling around the world), I am certainly in support of a project that aims to make this diet available to people of all income levels.

Ever noticed that the diets of poor families often consist of processed meats, fast food, and packaged goods? Ever stood inside the grocery store and watched large carts of barely bruised fruits and vegetables being piled into cards bound for the dumpster? It’s no surprise that perfectly good food goes to waste on a daily basis. And it’s also no surprise that low income families have trouble affording nourishing food, often suffering from health problems as a result (there is a lot of evidence to suggest that diets low in fruits, vegetables and pulses are associated with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease).

I think the Food2.org project is an innovative strategy for reducing waste while improving the diets of the poor.

You can browse all the project ideas and vote for the one you want to win (To view the Food2 idea abstract and vote on it, click here).