Cortland and Move For Hunger, a national hunger relief non-profit organization, announced a partnership that will not only help provide much-needed assistance to food banks across the United States but will also help to curb food waste and its resulting adverse impacts to the environment.

Through the partnership – which is Move For Hunger’s second-largest – Cortland will support the organization’s food rescue and hunger relief programs across all of its nearly 200 apartment communities, diverting food from landfills and into the hands of those who need it most.

With the Move For Hunger partnership, all Cortland residents and associates will have the opportunity to easily collect and donate non-perishable food they no longer want without leaving their apartment communities. Apartment communities will provide residents and associates with food collection bags upon request, which they can fill and drop at a spot on-site. Move For Hunger will then arrange for food pickup and delivery to the local food bank or pantry.

“This portfolio-spanning partnership with a like-minded organization like Move For Hunger will help us to continue to support our communities and drive our organization’s sustainability mission,” said Jonathan Tucker, executive vice president of Operations & Facilities, Cortland. “Move For Hunger has helped deter millions of pounds of food from ending up in landfills while also preventing more than four tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. In addition, the organization has helped provide more than 18 million meals to those in need. We look forward to bolstering these numbers and seeing what we can accomplish through this partnership.”

An estimated one in eight people does not have access to sufficient food to lead a healthy life, while nearly one-third of the food produced globally is wasted, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Food wastage not only deprives those who need it most, but it is also a major driver of pollution. Food waste that ends up in landfills produces methane – a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2. Excess amounts of methane absorb infrared radiation and heat up the earth’s atmosphere, which is a driver of climate change.

“Through this new and aptly timed partnership, Cortland is now one of our largest allies,” said Adam Lowy, Executive Director and Founder of Move For Hunger. “Partnering with Cortland will help reach our goals of reducing food insecurity coast-to-coast and protecting the planet by diverting food from landfills to food banks and pantries. We can’t wait to leverage its nationwide portfolio to directly impact those struggling with hunger across the whole of the United States.”

This partnership comes at a time when it’s needed most. The past year has shined a light on both the environmental shortcomings and food insecurity across our nation. Together, Cortland and Move For Hunger can continue to support those in need and fight for the wellbeing of our planet and future generations by preventing additional greenhouse gas emissions.