Years ago, I had a friend that took on an extra job, that was temporary, to supplement his income. The job was disposing of bananas that had been shipped on a banana boat, but the refrigeration had broken down, and they were not kept cold enough during transport. There was nothing wrong with the bananas, but their shelf life would have been reduced because the temperature was not kept low enough. The insurance company for the supplier, paid the company for the lost shipment. To pay the claim for the lost shipment, the insurance company had to declare them to be of $0.00 value, and they became the property of the insurance company. My friend, and the others that had been hired to dispose of the bananas asked why they could not give some of the boxes of bananas to some of the local food banks, since it was such a waste to dispose of perfectly good bananas, and the food banks would distribute them quickly, so shelf life was not a critical factor. The response was that if they could be eaten, they would have value. In order for the supplier to be paid for the lost shipment, the bananas had to be of $0.00 value, and disposed of. Those perfectly good bananas could not be given to anyone. All boxes of the bananas were accounted for at the disposal site, to validate the $0.00 value claim for the shipment. I also mentioned that by giving the bananas to the needy, it might impact banana sales for a week or two, slightly reducing the income of all those involved, from the grower, to the end point of sale.
Our government pays millions in research for increased milk production in cows, which creates enough surplus that dairy prices would fall, so they pay millions to dump the surplus in the river(s) to keep the prices up, and the market viable.
The reason there is only Grade A, is because no one can make as much money on Grade B. Remember, our government makes money on all this too, so keeping the prices up benefits them. Are we able to make most food much more affordable to everyone, and adequately feed the needy? Yes. Should we? Yes. Do we? No, because it's not lucrative, and would impact the profit margin for everyone involved. It's about greed, not about taking care of our citizens.
