Dive summary:

• Activist groups spoke up when they heard 600,000 pounds of corn was going to be sent to the landfill just because the Green Giant canary couldn’t process the excess.
• The group convinced the cannery to allow them to take the excess corn and was able to feed 465,000 people in 10 states with the excess food.
• North American has the highest rate of food waste in the world and the EPA says food makes up the greatest share of Americas municipal waste, often rotting in landfills and emanating methane.

From the article:

Call it the great corn rescue of 2012.

Big ripe ears of Minnesota sweet corn destined to become Green Giant niblets were instead going to be wasted. With a bountiful harvest this month, the cannery simply couldn't process it all.

Then a new campaign -- handiwork of local food relief groups and corporations -- swung into action, quickly moving the corn from the fields to the food banks.

"It's beautiful corn, and it only lasts for a period of time," said Ellie Lucas, chief campaign officer for Hunger-Free Minnesota. ...