by Benji Pesto

On August 23, Food Recovery Network’s Loyola University Chicago chapter recovered 313.368 pounds of food from Theatre on the Lake, which hosted this year’s National Association of REALTORS® Leadership Summit. Fellow chapter members Christina Bozio, Caitlyn Dang, and others recovered leftover food from the event and donated it to A Just Harvest in Rogers Park.

This is one of the biggest single recoveries Loyola’s chapter has ever performed, and we are amazed by how much food we were able to donate! Recovering outside of Loyola’s dining halls has really opened our eyes to the world of food waste beyond the limits of campus, and we hope to partner with more businesses and organizations to further reduce food waste and fight hunger in Chicago.

Our chapter treasurer Caitlyn Dang said, “I felt an overwhelming sense of joy once I saw all of the food recovered stacked on the table at A Just Harvest. It was astonishing to see how with just a few hours of my time on a Monday night, I could help recover hundreds of pounds of food that would otherwise have ended up in the trash. Now, I know this food will go to making a difference in my own local neighborhood and feed so many people who are in need. A little truly does go a long way—volunteer with Food Recovery Network!”

A Just Harvest is a non-profit community organization in northern Rogers Park in Chicago. It’s mission is “to fight poverty and hunger in the Rogers Park and greater Chicago community by providing nutritious meals daily while cultivating community and economic development and organizing across racial, cultural and socioeconomic lines in order to create a more just society.” A Just Harvest was able to use the food we recovered from the event to create free lunches for quite a few days following the recovery.