COLUMBUS (WCMH) — It’s amazing when you realize, 40% of all food is wasted in this country, while 3 out of 10 children in Ohio will go to bed hungry tonight.

More people are becoming aware of food waste, including Harold Morley who contacted Better Call Jackson when he said he witnessed food waste at a supermarket in the Graceland area.

“I noticed they were throwing away hundreds of doughnuts and pastries into a large 50-gallon trash can, I thought it could be put to better use,” said Morley.

There is a better use, several merchants including Kroger have a system for donating unsold food items.  If products are still unsold after marked down prices, they are donated to one of several food banks around the area.

Jennifer Jarrell handles the media marketing for Kroger and says, depending on the store and the department, donated food is picked up daily.  The Henderson Road Kroger has donated 15-thousand pounds of food so far this year.

The Mid-Ohio Food Bank is one of the recipients of the donations. “About 30% of the fresh food we donated we receive from grocery stores such as Kroger and others in the area,” said Jill Jess of the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Jess goes on to say, “A charity can only do so much and corporations are another piece of the puzzle of ending hunger.”

Kroger has an aggressive plan of zero waste by 2020.  A family of four wastes on average,  about $1,500 of food each year.   You can save using some simple techniques like freezing some of your food, including fresh produce.  You can find a complete list on how to fight food waste at www.savethefood.comComing up at 6, Mike Jackson asks Kroger what its stores are doing to combat food waste.