From Regina's Desk: FRN In Motion

Usually, summer at Food Recovery Network headquarters is a time to reflect on our efforts from the school year and develop innovations and improvements as to how we work with our chapters and other stakeholders across the country. Usually.

This year I’ve asked the team to do things a little differently. I’ve asked the team to consider what we have accomplished since our founding. We built a great organization, and now it is time to grow from start-up and incubation to a mature, sustainable organization. This is our opportunity to activate FRN in a way we never have before.

For us, this summer means to take a step back and see the bigger picture. To consider the moment we are in, the movement we are building, and to reflect on what has happened in our past. This is how we will springboard FRN into the future. A movement sustains itself with dedicated people who are willing to hold tight to a vision. For us, this is a coveted victory. For us, victory is higher education becoming the first sector where food waste is the norm, not the exception. That is in the distance. With all of your help, we will cross that finish line full of sustained momentum.

At the heart of our work, we need to make sure each chapter feels connected to one another, that they have the necessary resources, and that they feel part of the Food Recovery Network movement as times change, as their chapters evolve and the movement grows. This is how we’ll spend our summer.

The big questions we’re asking translate into work we are embarking on this summer:

• Our Regional Outreach Coordinators (ROCs) are joining FRN headquarters for a 3-day retreat to support them to be our first-ever ambassadors for FRN to deepen relationships with chapters in their regions and to outreach to new schools to join the movement.
• We’re evaluating our processes and making improvements. We’ve already identified ways to save our chapters time, improve their knowledge base, and further connect to our communities by asking better questions and analyzing data in new ways. We’ve surveyed our chapters and our hunger fighting partner agencies and cannot wait to share the results with you.
• FRN’s Board of Directors has expanded from six to ten people and is eager to jump into its work supporting the organization. Earlier this year, the board accepted six focus areas that will define the roadmap for FRN’s future. The Board of Directors will build on those to develop FRN’s 3-year strategic plan. I cannot wait to unveil that for everyone.
• FRN turns five this fall! We are busy planning a yearlong schedule of programming to showcase our efforts and accomplishments. In only five short years, FRN has proven that college students can be a leading voice in changing behavior. Where once no one talked about wasting good food, fast forward to today and students across the country are saying that we do not need to waste our food — we can reduce food waste at the source and in the process feed those in need. Again, we need your ideas and support! Be on the lookout for ways to connect with us! In particular, be on the lookout for our 5th anniversary itinerary of events and programming.

I look forward to working with all of you this summer and beyond as FRN takes a big leap forward to accelerate our impact across the country. A movement sustains itself with dedicated people who are willing to hold tight to a vision — a bright light — that is in the distance. With all of your help, we will get there that much faster where we can say definitively that higher education recovers its surplus food.

Thank you.

Epic Dorm Recovery at New Mexico State University

FRNds at New Mexico State at the end of their #DormRecovery2016 where they collected more than 700 pounds of dry goods and nonperishable items.

The Food Recovery Network at New Mexico State University has grown leaps and bounds during the Spring 2016 semester. As a team, we have recovered over 1,500 pounds of food on our college campus that would have otherwise gone to waste. We completed several recoveries from our campus dining hall, Taos (a Sodexo facility), but our biggest and most successful recovery was our First Annual Dorm Food Recovery. During an officer meeting, we brainstormed ways to recover more food on campus, and collectively we decided on the dorm recovery. We recruited 30 FRNds to volunteer Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during finals week, May 9-12. Thanks to the generosity and participation of our Social Work Faculty, many of the volunteers received extra credit on their final exams. But this was not the only thing that motivated this amazing group of people: it was our desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and a chance to give back to the community. Our volunteers were so enthusiastic, many of them engaged the campus community in conversations on food waste and how we, as students, can get involved in fighting food waste and becoming a part of Food Recovery Network at NMSU. 

The response was amazing and we recovered more food than any of us expected. Over 700 pounds of dry goods and nonperishable items were recovered and donated to the local food bank, Casa de Perigrinos. During the time that we did not have active volunteers collecting food we had bright green boxes in each of the residence halls serving as a collection station until the volunteers showed up everyday at 5 p.m. When we first presented this idea to the head of the residence halls, we received some push back and doubt, but after we proved to have a system in place to keep the lobbies of the residence halls from becoming a food pile-up disaster, we were invited back to do this end-of-semester dorm recovery on a regular basis. 

It is a wonderful feeling to know that we may have sparked a new trend on college campuses, and to think of all the ramen noodles that get a second chance at life and all the bellies that won't have to go to bed hungry is simply amazing. Yes, part of food justice is encouraging healthy food choices, but if we can help feed one more person, and eliminate just a little bit more waste, then we’ve accomplished something. A majority of the volunteers and officers of FRN at NMSU are Social Work students, and this event provided real hands on experience for us to see that what we are preparing to do in our careers- helping people in the community. Food Recovery Network has made such a huge impact not only on our campus, but in the Las Cruces community as well. It has been a great honor to serve and work under the Food Recovery Network and we look forward to growing our local chapter in the semesters to come.

Reducing Food Waste Across the Nation, One Campus at a Time

FRNds at the 2016 National Food Recovery Dialogue in College Park, MD. (Photo credit: Elena Baurkot)

This interview was written and conducted by Jonathan Squibb. The post originally appeared on Compass Group's Community section of their blog.

In the US, 40% of food goes uneaten and ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of municipal waste and accounts for 16% of methane gas emissions. In 2011, a group of University of Maryland students set out to change that.

One of those University of Maryland students and Food Recovery Network’s Co-Founder and Director of Development, Mia Zavalij, shares FRN’s story and their plans to make food recovery the norm, not the exception.

Jonathan Squibb: How did the Food Recovery Network get its start?

Mia Zavalij: In 2011, University of Maryland students noticed a paradox: dining halls were wasting nutritious food while community members were going hungry. The students formed Food Recovery Network (FRN) to address these problems through a student-driven mission: recovering surplus food from their campus and donating it to local nonprofits.

FRN’s replicable model caught on quickly as more students noticed the same issue in their respective communities and adopted FRN programs. Since its founding, FRN has scaled from one campus group to a network of 186 chapters in 42 states that have recovered more than 1.2 million pounds of food. By May 2017, FRN aims to reach 230 chapters and recover 1.6 million pounds.

FRN’s programs change not only the trajectory of would-be-wasted food but also the conversation about American food systems. FRN envisions a nation where food recovery is the norm, not the exception.

JS: When did you transition from needing to seek out chapters vs. potential chapters coming to you?

MZ: In the first year and a half, FRN’s student co-founders started 22 chapters through outreach to friends on other campuses. In the summer of 2013, FRN was featured on the VH1 Do Something Awards. We hired our first full time staff just in time to manage the tidal wave of new chapter applications; since then hundreds of students have expressed interest in bringing FRN to their campuses.

JS: How does a chapter get its start and how do you develop the partnerships with the community groups that receive the food?

MZ: Once a student expresses interest in starting an FRN chapter, they are paired up with a staff member at FRN national. FRN staff coach the students through an eight step process to start a chapter. Our steps include, recruiting a leadership team, talking with dining service managers, training in food safety, and finding an appropriate partner agency in the community to receive the food. FRN students have the autonomy to choose the partner agency that will work best for their chapter, and FRN national provides support in ensuring the partner meets necessary guidelines and has the capacity to properly store and reheat donated food.

JS: How did the relationship with Compass Group begin?

MZ: Early on, FRN formed a relation with Bon Appétit Management Company and Chartwells Higher Education. Claire Cummings, from Bon Appétit, helped develop the Food Safety Guidelines we use to train our students and a “Guide to Food Recovery for Kitchen Managers.” We have been very appreciative of the support that our partnerships with Bon Appétit and Chartwells have been able to provide. Through working together, FRN has rapidly spread to Compass accounts across the country, and we expect this growth to increase in the coming years.

On April 2-4 of this year, FRN hosted the inaugural National Food Recovery Dialogue, bringing together over 400 student leaders and professionals in the food recovery, food justice, policy and environmental spaces. Chartwells Higher Education was the Premier Sponsor for the National Food Recovery Dialogue and supported the travel of hundreds of students from all over the country, allowing FRN to bring together a record number of students for the weekend!

“We are so grateful for the travel stipend from Chartwells Higher Education which allowed us to send three members of our team to the Food Recovery Network dialogue. The conference helped us feel good about the work we’re doing while exciting and inspiring us to keep striving to accomplish more on our campus. We can’t wait to see where this national movement goes and are happy to be on board, we hope to attend the dialogue next year as well!” – Kirsty Hessing, student from FRN at Wagner College

JS: What’s next for FRN?

MZ: In less than five years, FRN has grown from a student group at the University of Maryland to the largest student movement against hunger and food waste with nearly 200 chapters in 42 states. As an expert in food recovery, FRN is currently exploring the impact it can have on accounts outside of college campuses while continuing to put higher education on track to be the first sector in the economy where food recovery is the norm.

From Regina's Desk: FRN at the 2016 Food Tank Summit

“Don’t let today’s solution be tomorrow’s problem.” That sentiment — spoken to me by Niaz Dorry, Coordinating Director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, when I first met her at the 2016 Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C. — has barely left my mind since the event occurred in mid-April. Niaz happened to be talking to me about how all too often, when we try to divert attention away from fish that are being over-consumed, we place attention on other fish with bigger populations to give the over-consumed fish a break to repopulate. What happens, she said, is that eventually those fish become over-consumed, too. So while we’re still waiting for the first group of fish to repopulate, we now have a second group of fish facing the exact issue for which we were trying to solve. We essentially kick the can down the road; with this method, we cause more harm than good. 

I derive solace from the knowledge that groups like Niaz’s exists and they, like many of the organizations represented at this year’s 2016 Food Tank Summit, are there to think more intentionally about our practices around food so that our solutions today don’t cause further problems tomorrow.

I was able to tell people about Imperfect Produce, the business Ben Simon, co-founder and former executive director of FRN, started that ensures “ugly” produce that would have been left in the field is now purchased by consumers. At the same time, we heard from Jeremiah Lowery, Political Appointee to the D.C. Food Policy Council, and Lauren Shweder Biel, Executive Director of DC Greens, who demand that the voices of those living in poverty are heard – that they too need a place at the table to proffer solutions to feeding more people. There were additional panels dedicated to “Uncommon Collaborations,” facilitating finding solutions through a variety of partnerships. From “ugly” produce to partnerships, dialogue at the summit focused on intentional, viable solutions. 

Shira Kaufman from Carleton College's FRN chapter helped recover Chipotle burritos, sandwiches, salads, and jerky from the 2016 Food Tank Summit in Washington, D.C.

And for me, the proudest moment came when I was able to tell the hundreds in the audience and the hundreds more watching the livestream across the country about Food Recovery Network. About the will of college students from coast to coast who year after year, despite busy schedules, finals, and social demands, are consistently on the front line to support their colleges and universities in reducing waste at the source. I was asked, “Well, when the dining halls make adjustments in ordering so there is less waste at the source, what do your students do then?” I said we are not here to generate surplus food in order to provide food to those in need — we want to see surpluses decreases. To advocate otherwise would be solving a problem for today that would not move the needle for tomorrow. Luckily for us, however, humans have a tendency of creating surplus despite best efforts. The beauty of FRN is that we are there to ensure that surplus goes to those in need. I was able to tell the audience of how we have sought new places to recover food, including additional dining halls on campus and restaurants and stores in campus communities. Events, too – the audience cheered and clapped when I informed them that the surplus food from the summit was being recovered by FRN staff and our Carleton College chapter.

Remember when I blogged back in November about FRN being the standard from which food recovery solutions are measured? It’s true. Our movement is about making food recovery as commonplace as recycling, and when our dining halls and our restaurants don’t recover their surplus food, it’s as cringe-worthy as seeing someone intentionally litter. Recycling and not littering are mores of our nation, and our movement is ensuring that we add throwing out food to that list. As I was happy to share at the summit, recovering our surplus food is the next frontier – and we’re already there.

FRN Supports the Ad Council's New 'Save the Food' Campaign

During April’s National Food Recovery Dialogue, students gathered in a classroom to hear how the Ad Council planned to make food waste palatable. What students didn’t know was that they were about to see a preview of the then-unreleased "Save the Food" campaign. 

As the first few seconds of the ad began to play, the hum of eager anticipation evaporated into excited silence as we were introduced to the story’s central figure: a single strawberry. Its journey, set to music from Pixar’s Up, started with its growth at the farm and ended, in the ad’s culminating moments, with the strawberry's plunge into the bottom of a trash can.

Follow the journey of a strawberry from the farm to the refrigerator to understand all that it takes to bring your food to you. Did you know that 40% of our food ends up wasted? Wasted food is the single largest contributor to landfills in the US-not to mention that it wastes water, labor, fuel, money, & love!

The Ad Council, in partnership with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), launched their Save the Food campaign last month. The national public service campaign is designed to combat food waste from the consumer level by drawing attention to the water, energy, and money attached to and lost with every wasted pound. 
   
The campaign arrives on the heels of the United States’ first-ever national food waste reduction goal, which calls for a 50 percent reduction by 2030. September's historic announcement brought food waste to the forefront of conversations worldwide, and days later, the U.N. set a similar international target. The message was clear: Food waste is both a domestic and a global priority. 

This is no surprise. In the United States alone, the No. 1 item in landfills is not paper, metal, or plastic – it’s food. And not just scraps of food, but edible food that should have never entered the landfill in the first place. The statistics are staggering: 40 percent of all food produced ends up in landfills despite the fact that about 25 percent of our nation’s fresh water is used to grow it. This carelessness with food amounts to about $162 billion lost annually, and is a problem that costs the average family of four about $1,500 per year. 

The environmental impacts of wasted food go even further. If global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after only the United States and China, making wasted food an environmental catastrophe. 

“We’re all culprits here, tossing out staggering amounts of food in kitchens nationwide,” said NRDC President Rhea Suh. “But with small steps, we can save large amounts of food – and along with it, money and precious natural resources. The more food we save, the more we can share with hungry Americans, the more we can reduce climate pollution, and the more water won’t go to waste.”

The Save the Food campaign’s role, and more generally the media’s role, in reducing food waste is to provide awareness for and normalize the idea of food waste reduction. Historically, we’ve seen popular media successfully fulfill these role as it relates to other public issues, including drunk driving and cigarette usage. 

In the late 1980s, the concept of a designated driver was introduced by public service announcements (PSAs) and popularized by its use on top television programs such as Cheers and L.A. Law. Similarly, the "truth" campaign, through its jarring PSAs, helped bring teen cigarette use down from 23 percent in 2000 to 7 percent today – a similar timeframe provided within the food waste reduction goal. 

“Altering consumer awareness and perception around the issue of food waste could have significant environmental, social and economic impact on our country,” said Lisa Sherman, Ad Council President & CEO. “By taking just a few simple steps around food storage, preservation, and use, the home cook has an incredible opportunity to reduce waste and minimize their environmental footprint.”

We all have a role to play when working towards less wasteful, more sustainable food practices. Join us in saving the food, because every pound counts.