Alexander Carr is president at the Ohio State University Food Recovery Network chapter. FRN at OSU was able to double its volunteer base this past Fall, and never missed a pickup with their food donor!

What is most fulfilling about your work with FRN. Why?

To me, the most fulfilling part about my work with FRN is the direct impact I can make on my community and all the great relationships that form as a result. Working with the university administration, our partner agencies, and our amazing volunteers to make a real, tangible difference in reducing food waste is a tremendously fulfilling and rewarding experience.

What is your favorite part of being a member of your FRN chapter? 

My favorite part of being a member of The Ohio State FRN chapter is all the creative efforts we have done in the past several years to reduce food waste. For example, when our partner agencies ran out of capacity for donated baked goods our volunteers came up with many creative ways to recycle them sustainably. We worked with a local livestock farmer to convert them into pig feed, composted, and even worked with a local brewery to create a beer out of bagels! Being surrounded by a group of capable, passionate volunteers leads to exciting new projects and relationships in our community.

WHAT GOES INTO STARTING A CHAPTER?

During the pandemic, how has this experience been valuable to you?

Last year when Ohio State moved classes online and effectively closed campus, we were unable to continue recoveries. While frustrating, our leadership team used the downtime to brainstorm and think about what we want the future of our club to look like. We knew that because of the pandemic, food insecurity was at unprecedented levels and knew that we had to continue our mission to try and contribute to our struggling community. In the fall, we threw ourselves into online recruitment making videos, hosting presentations, and trying to connect with students looking to make an impact. In this way, we were successful, more than doubling our volunteer base for the upcoming year and growing our leadership team. During the semester, we had to be extremely proactive in communicating with our university donation locations, partner agencies, and volunteers to make sure that we were following COVID's best practices and ensuring that all parties were comfortable with how we were operating. I’m proud to say that we never missed a pickup and donated thousands of pounds of food to our partner agencies in the fall semester. The pandemic has forced me to be more resilient, creative, and communicative with all parties involved with our efforts. It has also increased my passion for this work, as I know that what we do is needed more than ever now.

What does a just and equitable food system look like to you?

In Columbus, OH there are many areas of the city known as “food deserts'' in which residents have limited access to fresh, healthy food shopping options. This is not unique to Columbus, nearly every city in America has these areas that have disproportionately large minority populations. For a just and equitable food system, these gaps must be closed. I see equitable food as more decentralized and community-oriented. Instead of opening more big-box supermarkets, I believe that smaller markets integrated into the community that locally source their food (whether it be through community gardens or vertical farming) are key to strengthening these areas, minimizing food deserts, and strengthening community resilience.

What advice would you give to new members – especially during a pandemic? What was something you wish someone had told you before you took on your role?

It’s no secret that universities are very supportive of sustainability-related organizations right now. Use that to your advantage. It’s critical to have a champion for Food Recovery in your university administration. They can introduce you to people you’d like to meet with, increase the visibility of your efforts, and help you identify new projects to focus on. Beyond that, don’t be afraid to be creative and think outside the box. Many of our best ideas came out of conversations starting with “Wouldn’t it be cool if…”. Create relationships with other sustainability organizations at your university, it opens the door to collaborative efforts.

What is your Instagram handle?

@osufoodrecovery!