Giving Thanks for our FRNds

Students at Madonna University work with their university dining services to recover and donate food to Life Challenge in Detroit, Michigan. 

Thanksgiving week is upon us, and here at Food Recovery Network we have a lot to be grateful for. 

We are grateful for our 160 chapters in 39 states. These student leaders and volunteers have recovered more than 1 million pounds of surplus food from their campus communities that otherwise would have gone to waste. Thank you for your leadership and dedication.

We are grateful for our partner agencies. These community organizations across the country work hand in hand with our student leaders to make sure recovered food ends up on the plates of those who need it most. Thank you for your partnership and service. 

We are grateful for our dining hall and restaurant partners. These eateries go the extra mile to donate their surplus food rather than throw it away. Thank you for your initiative and commitment. 

One of FRN’s core values is reflection, so I’d like to take some time to reflect on the past four years by sharing some stories of gratitude from those involved in FRN’s journey.

From a student: “After we made our second recovery, I received a call from our contact at our partner agency. He took time out of his Saturday to call and tell me how grateful they were at Life Challenge to be receiving these donations. He said that he had told the residents that they received these donations from students at Madonna University and they were all excited to know who we were! Consistently after that, he always makes sure that we know that they use all the food and the residents are very thankful. After that moment, I knew this was all worth it! I am so glad we are participating with FRN and making this difference in our little corner of the world.” -- Katie Crombez, President of FRN at Madonna University

From a partner agency: “Food Recovery Network is remarkable not only for the array of wholesome food they donate to us, but for the spirit of the students who work with us. In the high-pressure environment of a major college (Providence College), students finding the time and the desire to serve their community is inspiring. … Their donations are invaluable in helping us to keep feeding the people who depend on us. I’m very grateful to be part of the network.” -- Larry LoVerde, Kitchen Manager at McAuley House

From a recipient of FRN food: “I so appreciate the help of PLASE during this transition and crisis. I felt part of a family in so many ways. This did indeed include the daily meals, conversations and kindness of residents and staff. I know part of the food was donated through Goucher College. It added good and new foods. I am so appreciative."  -- Ms. K. G., a veteran served by Project PLASE 

Finally, we are grateful for our funders and donors. Your contributions help us fulfill our mission of fighting waste, feeding people, and developing student leaders. Thank you for your support and investment. 

Please consider making a donation to FRN today as part of our annual #GivingTuesday #FRNdzy fundraiser.

7 Ways to Reduce Food Waste This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving: a time for family, friends and a whole lot of food. We get it, we love food, but when all that food becomes leftovers that no one is interested in eating, it’s a problem. We thought it might be useful to share a few pointers on how to reduce your food waste this Thursday.

Plan your menu. It may seem like a no-brainer since it’s Thanksgiving, but it’s the easiest way to reduce food waste. If you know exactly what you’re cooking or who’s bringing what, you won’t have five bowls of mashed potatoes on the table. (Even though that doesn’t sound like the worst thing that could happen.)

Get a head count. This is step two of menu-planning. If there are only eight guests coming, cooking for 20 is 1) stressful and 2) unnecessary. Knowing the length of your guest list will help you decide what size turkey to buy.

Check your cupboards. Before you head to the store, double check that you don’t have a can of this or a box of that hiding in the back of your pantry.

Keep the giblets and other bits. Did Grandma ever throw away the turkey giblets? No, she didn’t. She used them to flavor the gravy. She also probably used the pile of vegetable trimmings to make soup stock.

Let the leftovers leave. Encourage guests to bring containers so that they can take home some of the leftovers. Just be sure to keep the pie. You’ll want the pie.

Use the rest of the leftovers. Even if everyone takes home a doggy bag, you’ll probably still have something in your fridge. Get creative! There are thousands of recipes on the Internet using leftovers for post-Thanksgiving meals. No excuses.

Feed the hungry. Find a food bank in your area and donate any excess food you have.

We'd love to hear how your waste-free Thanksgiving goes. Leave a comment or send us an email at info@foodrecoverynetwork.org

International Forum for Women's Food Leadership in the Global South

(From left) Maddie, HC, Karen, Cam, Mia, and Hannah attend the International Forum for Women's Food Leadership in the Global South at GWU in late October.

This post is written by Maddie Cunninghan, an FRN Expansion Fellow for the 2015-2016 year.

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the International Forum for Women's Food Leadership in the Global South at The George Washington University with several of my FRN colleagues. Hosted by GWU's Global Gender Program, this extraordinary event brought women from diverse fields, backgrounds, and geographical locations together to share their stories of the fight to build a more just food system. 

Throughout the two days, several themes emerged that I found particularly powerful and relevant to the work FRN leaders do each day. One theme the panelists brought up many times was the need to focus on solutions, not just problems. As women from developing nations, many of the women were all too used to their country or region being used as a case study for problems like agricultural inefficiency, lack of infrastructure, or malnutrition. While these are real problems, and seeing them clearly is deeply important, the next step is to do something about them.

The female food leaders we heard from know a thing or two about doing something to create real change. So do FRN student leaders. As a New Chapter Coordinator at FRN, I get to speak with student leaders working hard to create official FRN chapters of their campuses every day.  In my mind, these students are “Food Leaders” in their own right. These students are informed about climate change, hunger, and social inequality. They see problems in their community, and they do something.  

The way FRN chapters go about making a difference is simple, tangible, and effective. They donate food that would normally be wasted to people in need. This may not tackle all of the problems related to our food system all at once, but as the fellow who took on the task of entering all of our partner agency testimonials into a new database this year I can assure you that FRN leaders are making a difference.  At one point during the conference, one of the women said “Just because it's complex doesn't mean we don't go there.” The women food leaders I had the opportunity to hear speak, and FRN leaders both prove that being informed about complex issues doesn’t have to lead to paralysis. So FRNds let’s keep moving forward, one step at a time.

For more information about the Forum, check out Food Tank's event debrief.

The 2015 Urban Agriculture Symposium at UDC

Erin, Cassidy, and HC at the 2015 Urban Agriculture Symposium at the UDC

On Friday October 23rd, Erin, HC and I (Cassidy) traveled to the University of the District of Columbia for this year’s Urban Agriculture Symposium. We heard from a wide range of industry experts including United States Department of Agriculture economists, university professors, horticulturalists, farmers, business owners and organization directors about their experience in the world of urban agriculture.

Since our work at FRN focuses on food recovery and redistribution, we especially appreciated that the speakers emphasized the importance of each stage of the modern food chain. For instance, successful food production starts with healthy soil, and Dr. Sally Brown, a professor of soil science at the University of Washington, showcased municipal biosolids as a product that processes food and human waste (two end-results of food production) back into productive soil in a safe and environmentally conscious way. Another speaker, Maria Moreira of Flats Mentor Farm, discussed the opportunities her live-on farm provides for hundreds of immigrants from around the world. She said her farmers grow crops significant to their native cultures, successfully sell them at farmers markets and then take whatever is leftover home to feed their families and communities. This particular story reinforced our understanding that in the local food movement, everyone’s voice deserves to be heard and making way for multiple viewpoints typically leads to greater success than would have been achieved otherwise. The ability to grow those crops, which are hard to find in the U.S. but are undoubtedly important for cooking certain native recipes, empowers Maria’s farmers to bring their traditions into a new environment. 

This conference allowed us to branch out, meet new people and find ways to incorporate our work into a larger discussion about the implications of food production in the twenty-first century. Thanks to the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences at UDC for putting on such a wonderful event! We now feel inspired to discuss the importance of the bigger picture with our student leaders.

What does One Million Mean to You?

Co-founder Nick Murphy (center) assists in an early recovery.

In anticipation of our one millionth pound of food recovered, we asked our original founders one simple question: 

What does one million mean to you?

 

Lauren Behgam

"An incredible number of students taking action to build more sustainable and just communities."

Andrew Bresee

"1 million pounds means that FRN has really made a big impact on changing the culture surrounding food waste and hunger. Seeing the growth of 0 - million pounds and 1 - 150+ Chapters has been a really exciting indication of this cultural shift. 

However, with over a billion pounds of food being thrown away every year, these numbers also indicate that there is a lot more work to be done. I can not wait to see how FRN will continue to grow, impact  the US culture, and reach a billion pounds of food recovered!"

Ben Chesler

"One million pounds of food means we are well on our way to making a major dent in solving the food waste problem on college campuses, and in our country generally.  When we started FRN back in 2011, we had only a dream of what FRN would become and it's amazing to see how big it's grown.  Here's to many millions more pounds!"

Becca Kagan

"It's hard to even comprehend what 1 million pounds means. It was crazy to be part of creating something that grew like that. I've never seen or heard of an idea take off like that before. I think it speaks to just how powerful the idea is, and how simple, and how needed. I still remember the first time I heard about the concept of what would become FRN from Ben Chesler - he just said a single sentence, and I was sold. I told him immediately that I wanted to be involved. I think we could all see that there was so much power in this idea. 

It also always re-inspires me that there are hundreds of students around the country that decided to start up chapters of FRN and thousands that decided to volunteer at their school. It really goes to show that so many people want to make a difference, they just don't know how. They're waiting for the right idea to come along."

Nick Murphy

“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the other FRN co-founders and proud to see our small experiment at four colleges grow to over 150 chapters that have cumulatively redirected one million pounds of food from rotting in landfills to nourishing people’s bodies. Living proof of Margaret Mead's  quote: 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has’ 

Cam Pascual

"I remember being a freshman and feeling so small and disheartened about these huge, seemingly insurmountable global issues like hunger and climate change. I have no words to describe how inspiring it is, five years later, to see thousands of FRN students attacking these issues in a meaningful, powerful way. 1,000,000 pounds matter. 800,000 meals matter. Together, we're actually making a difference."

Ben Simon

"Founding FRN with such amazing people has been the highlight of my life so far. The most inspiring part for me has been seeing the thousands of college students rallying around this, starting chapters, going on epic recoveries and committing to be lifelong leaders for social good." 

Mia Zavalij

"When I first started working on FRN with my fellow co-founders, I had no idea that we would grow so quickly or that others would become so invested in the cause. We've been able to donate 1 million pounds in 4 years because we have thousands of student volunteers who care that good food is going to waste on their campus dining halls. They care that there are people in need in their communities. And they want to do something about it."

Their statements speak volumes about how far FRN has come in the past four years. A huge thanks to the work that all of our co-founders did and continue to do. Here's to the next million!