FRN Students Don’t Only Move Out of Dorms, They Move Out For Hunger

Students often throw out a lot of things when they move out of their residence halls at the end of the school year – including perfectly good food. While rushing to catch a train, bus, or plane home after an exam, the last thing on a student’s mind is saving still good cans of tuna fish, bags of beans, or packs of Ramen noodles from going into a landfill.

Move Out Day at Goucher College

This is where Food Recovery Network (FRN) and Move For Hunger (MFH) come in. The two organizations knew this issue was preventable through collaboration, and so created an end-of-year event called Move Out Day, where student volunteers collect food that would have otherwise gone straight into a dumpster while also raising campus awareness on food waste and hunger.

In Spring 2017, FRN and MFH co-hosted Move Out Days with FRN chapters on five participating college campuses: Brandeis University (Waltham, MA), George Washington University (Washington, D.C.), Goucher College (Baltimore, MD), Monmouth University (West Long Branch, NJ), and Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, CT). College students saw first-hand the amount of food that could be saved from the landfill. Each chapter was paired with a local moving company to deliver the collected food to a local food bank or pantry. Thanks to the incredible work and passion of the students, truck drivers, sponsors and FRN and MFH staff, a combined total of 5,059 pounds of food was recovered and delivered to those who need it most.

Thank you to the event sponsors, Doorsteps, Atlas Van Lines, Dumpsters.com and Clif Bar, for all helping make the event a spectacular success. Thank you to Upworthy for documenting the event and telling its story.

2017 was the inaugural year of Move Out Day, and FRN and MFH couldn’t be more thrilled to expand on this incredible momentum to make the event even bigger and more impactful in Spring 2018. Next semester, participation will quadruple, and about 20 chapters across the country will have the opportunity to coordinate a Move Out Day. If you are an FRN chapter that is interested in participating this year, please fill out the form here. If you are a company that is interested in getting involved and learning more about how you can sponsor the event, please email us at partnerships@foodrecoverynetwork.org.

Sara Merken, George Washington University Chapter Founder and Former Chapter President, spearheaded Move Out Day on GW’s campus. Read below to learn about Sara’s experience and to join us in our excitement in planning for our Second Annual Move Out Day in 2018:

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Move Out Day at George Washington University

Our chapter was new to GW’s campus the prior fall, and we had spent the prior few months attempting to get the Food Recovery Network name out there. Although many of the students who came by the Move Out For Hunger event tables had never heard of FRN (yet!), the intrigue and necessity for many students to get rid of their excess peanut butter, pasta, canned foods, and oatmeal packets before moving out of their dorm rooms allowed us to educate passersby about our cause and ask them to come back with the food that would have otherwise been thrown away.

The months of preparation and excitement could not even have predicted the success of the event. The day started off somewhat slow, and the only students passing by our stand were scurrying to the library to study for finals. As the day went on, however, the event began advertising itself. We were situated in Kogan Plaza, a main area at GW that gets a lot of foot traffic, and the bright green signs, miles-high piles of moving boxes, variety of Clif bars and stacks of t-shirts attracted many interested and unaware but curious students.  

Congratulations to all five schools that successfully put together such an exciting and necessary donation event! We collectively received thousands of pounds of nonperishable food along the east coast and should all be incredibly proud of our accomplishments.  A big thank you to Food Recovery Network, Move For Hunger, and each of the other sponsors for allowing our chapter to make a difference on GW’s campus and in the greater DMV area! An additional thank you to the staff members from Food Recovery Network who helped us out on the day of the event, and to my wonderful executive board for putting on such a memorable day!

Do You Believe In (NFRD) Magic?

Dear FRNds,

Thanks to of all of you who attended, Food Recovery Network’s second annual National Food Recovery Dialogue (NFRD) was a success. Each and every one of you who contributed an idea, shared a question, offered a suggestion, met a new FRNd, jotted down a “brain blast” for others to read, and absorbed knowledge made the conference what it was, creating an energy that pulsed through the rooms of the University of D.C. The weekend would not have been the same without you. You brought the magic.

At the National Office, we’ve been talking about “NFRD Magic” since the first NFRD in April 2016. Unanimously, we had a desire to bring that magic into the planning of our second annual dialogue, so we asked ourselves: what is that magic and where does it come from? How do we ensure this year’s participants feel the same magic that was felt last year? We had to think beyond the countless meetings, months of planning and the boxes of conference swag lining our office hallway. We imagined sitting in a room, surrounded by hundreds of people passionate about and committed to the same mission. We envisioned chapters in progress conversing with chapters who are four, five, six years old. We anticipated discussions in breakouts going something like this: “Our chapter struggles with volunteer organizing, how can we make it better?” and the answer of “At our chapter, we do this…” being one of many suggestions given as support. The advice, the best practices, the tips and tricks. It’s all magic.

At NFRD, we saw this magic come to life. We saw strangers become friends, mentees become inspired, and the FRN mission manifest itself in the hearts of leaders from all across the country.

While you spend your days focused on your community, your home, your people, there are thousands of people across the country focusing on their communities, their homes, their people. This was the weekend when we came together, looked one another in the eye and said “I care, too.”

That’s the NFRD magic.

Now what will you do with it? How will you carry it with you? If you ever feel weary or burned out, look in your heart and remember the way it felt to be surrounded by FRNds who care just as much as you. Then remember that they’re out there across the country, in the next city over, or maybe right next door, focusing on the same things you are and fighting the same fight you are. Remember that they’re there to help their fellow FRNd.

We’re so thankful to share in this movement with all of you.

Warmly,

Regina and hc

Kirsty Hessing at the NYC Food Tank Summit: Fighting Food Loss and Food Waste

Food Recovery Network partnered with Food Tank during its NYC Summit: Preventing Food Loss and Food Waste to engage FRN chapters across the country. There were six official watch parties hosted by FRN chapters, and even one in Kenya! FRN chapter leader and Student and Alumni Advisory Board member Kirsty Hessing is a fellow for Food Tank and was able to attend the summit first-hand. Read below to learn about Kirsty’s experience:

SAAB Member, Kirsty Hessing

As the Wagner College Food Recovery Network chapter founding President and Student and Alumni Advisory Board (SAAB) member, my interest in food waste and sustainability issues has allowed me the opportunity to speak at and attend many different conferences and summits, mostly in the company of other college-aged peers. Over the past few weeks, I spent time as a fellow for Food Tank where, as a college student, I was more so the minority. Food Tank mostly engages with professional-level leaders in the food waste and sustainability spheres.

Many of those who attended the Food Tank Summit on September 13, 2017, the first ever in New York City, were professors, entrepreneurs, chefs, press, and other interested people. I only met one other college student during the entire summit. Conversations at the summit centered around education at a young age, the introduction of new technologies and highlighting the work of innovative non-profit organizations in the field. I found myself so proud of the work FRN is doing. Multiple times throughout the conference, FRN was mentioned as a success in reducing food waste. It was wonderful to see both those familiar and new to FRN be so impressed with all the work we have done. Many didn’t realize the bridge that college campuses have between education and student initiative. Attendees and at-home viewers were inspired by the passion college students had in starting this movement themselves.

Former US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vislack discussing food waste.

The summit was set up similarly to how a TED talk looks like to the online viewer. The event space was small and made you feel as though you were part of the important conversations. Having a live stream with so many moving parts really added a cool dynamic to the whole event. At-home viewers were also emphasized throughout the day, highlighting their social media posts and responding to questions submitted online. Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank President, directly engaged at-home viewers by speaking to them directly.

My responsibilities as part of the summit included setting up and preparing volunteers the night before. Day of, I worked with the same group of volunteers as a liaison to the Food Tank directors. Many volunteers were chefs or had worked with Food Tank before. Many volunteered because they wanted to see this event first hand. I also worked with Great Performances, the catering team, to make sure they had all they needed throughout the day. My last responsibility was overseeing the compost and recycling bins with the help of Common Ground Compost. Composting, although different from food recovery, is, of course, another critical part of reducing food waste.Their team was so diligent and kind in their work throughout the day and taught me so much about what to do with specific kinds of waste. For example – did you know that because of the plastic lining inside them, Starbucks cups are not recyclable? I was surprised to learn this and is certainly information I will share with others back at Wagner College.

I encourage all FRN members, students, and alumni to follow Food Tank closely and watch their summits online when possible. Make sure to pay attention when Food Tank comes to a city near you; they always need volunteers and sometimes even fellows! The actual event is known to sell out within hours and have a waiting list of well over 1,000 people. However, being a volunteer is a great way to get into the event and share in everything in person. Even on the day of the event, I had the chance to network with many of the speakers and attendees. FRN’s work is a huge part of successfully fighting food waste and I encourage all of you to share our mission with as many people possible.

Food Tank Summit Watch Parties

FRN is excited to partner with Food Tank, a national organization that's mission is to alleviate "hunger, obesity, and poverty by creating a network of connections and information for all of us to consume and share." Throughout the country, FRN chapters and alumni will have “watch parties” to tune into Food Tank's Summit: Preventing Food Loss and Food Waste. With more than 30 confirmed speakers including John Boyd, Jr. and Tom Vilsack, FRN chapters will have the unique chance to have direct communication with some of the most influential individuals in the food recovery landscape. To register your viewing party, fill out this registration page by Thursday, September 9. Read Food Tank's press release below to learn more:

All-star lineup of food leaders and innovators gather in NYC at the WNYC Greene Space in Manhattan for a SOLD-OUT event to discuss how to stop food waste once and for all.

Food Tank, in partnership with Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data (ReFED) and with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and The Fink Family Foundation, will present a one-day summit on September 13, 2017, at the WNYC Greene Space in New York City (44 Charlton St., New York, NY, 10013), titled “Focusing on Food Loss and Waste.”

Confirmed speakers include (in alphabetical order—more to be announced soon): Emily Bachman, GrowNYC; Elizabeth Balkan, NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY); John Boyd, Jr., National Black Farmers Association; Diane Brady, Bloomberg; Joan Briggs, The Fink Family Foundation; Gigi Lee Chang, FoodFutureCo; Chris Cochran, ReFED; Tom Colicchio, Craft restaurants; Karl Deily, Sealed Air; Ron Gonen, Closed Loop Partners; Alison Grantham, Blue Apron; Tony Hillery, Harlem Grown; Helen Hollyman, Vice; Lynette Johnson, Society of St. Andrews; Prasanta Kalita, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign; Justin Kamine, KDC Ag – Kamine Development Corporation; Sam Kass, Trove; Amy Keister, Compass Group; Devon Klatell, The Rockefeller Foundation; Bonnie McClafferty, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Jude Medeiros, Sodexo; Clare Miflin, Kiss + Cathcart; Carina Millstone, Feedback; Monica Munn, The Rockefeller Foundation; Kimbal Musk, The Kitchen; Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank; Pete Pearson, WWF; Tinia Pina, Re-Nuble; Antonio Reynoso, New York City Councilmember; Ruth Reichl, PBS/Food Writer; Brian Roe, The Ohio State University; Christine Datz-Romero, Lower East Side Ecology Center; Kim Severson, The New York Times; Stephanie Strom, The New York Times; Tom Vilsack, U.S. Dairy Export Council; Brian Wansink, Cornell University; Jocelyn Zuckerman, Modern Farmer; and Konstantin Zvereff, BlueCart.

More details here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/focusing-on-food-loss-and-food-waste-2017-food-tank-summit-nyc-tickets-31681070936

 With about 8 million residents, New York City alone sends 4 million tons of waste to landfills each year. An estimated one-third of that waste is food. As home to Hunts Point, the largest food distribution center in the world, New York City is primed to lead the nation’s (and even the world’s) food waste movement.

The 2017 Food Tank Summit in New York, NY, will consist of dynamic panel discussions featuring a variety of speakers from around the world and exciting keynote speakers moderated by journalists from The New York Times, Vice, Bloomberg, Modern Farmer, and more. Within just four hours of announcing the event, demand was so high that Food Tank received four-times more applications than there are seats. 

Immediately following the Summit, Food Tank, in partnership with The Fink Family Foundation & Blue Hill Restaurant, will be hosting a special dinner discussion with leading thinkers such as Ruth Reichl, Sam Kass, David Barber, and Dan Barber around solutions to food waste. The evening will feature a special menu inspired by Chef Dan Barber’s wastED initiative, a pop-up devoted to the theme of re-using foods that would otherwise be wasted.

The Summit will be co-hosted by ReFED, the leading national organization dedicated to reducing U.S. food waste. In 2016, ReFED published the Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste, a landmark report that presented cost-effective solutions capable of cutting food waste by 20 percent while conserving natural resources, creating jobs, feeding the hungry, and generating $100B in economic value. ReFED now collaborates with businesses, nonprofits, and government to implement these solutions.

The Summit is also supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, which has committed $130 million through their YieldWise initiative to work with private, public, and nonprofit actors across the food supply system to cut their food loss and waste by half. Support from The Fink Family Foundation has also made this event possible.

At the New York City Food Tank Summit, audiences will have the opportunity to participate in extended question-and-answer sessions and expert journalists will moderate each panel—topics include leveraging capital to fund innovations and fill research gaps, forging creative partnerships, encouraging behavior change, and more.

The Food Tank Summit is also made possible with the support of the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, Sealed Air, Blue Apron, Organic Valley, Blue Hill Restaurant, and Niman Ranch. Food and beverage donations will come from Niman Ranch, Juice Press, Harmless Harvest, Brooklyn Roasting Co., and GT’s Kombucha.

Great Performances, a NYC-based catering and events company engaged in the principles of sustainability and food justice, is graciously donating the breakfast and lunch receptions for all attendees. The menus will reflect the company’s commitment to the reduction of food waste and the creative application of full-food utilization.

Through a national partnership, many Food Recovery Network and Oxfam Americaorganizations and chapters on more than one hundred campuses nationwide will be participating in Food Tank Summit watch parties live. Food Recovery Network is the largest student movement fighting hunger and food waste in the country. Oxfam America is a global movement of people working to end the injustice of poverty.

The following day on Thursday, September 14, 2017, Food Tank will be organizing a free public awareness event to benefit environmental nonprofit GrowNYC, featuring speakers to educate around food waste and showcasing its new dance fitness concept called Garjana at Washington Square Park (12:00 to 1:30pm). Garjana is led by a team of Broadway performers, featuring choreography from Mamma Mia’s Monica Kapoorand debuting all-original music from Douglas Romanow, whose credits include Justin Bieber, Tyga, and hundreds more. Garjana has been selling out major venues across New York and getting rave reviews from outlets ranging from Billboard, Time Out, Edible Magazine, and more. Conceived by Food Tank Board Chairman Bernard Pollackwith visuals and video by award-winning film and television director Kevin Arbouet. On September 28, Garjana will be making its Brooklyn debut at House of Yes.

More details here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-outdoor-garjana-dance-fitness-party-in-nyc-for-grownyc-tickets-36368195251.

Since 2015, Food Tank has convened more than 275 speakers in front of more than 2,500 in-person attendees (all of our Summits have sold out!). More than 175,000 livestream viewers have tuned in from countries around the globe, representing six continents. Major food journalists from The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Hill, Politico, National Geographic, and more have served as panel moderators. Food Tank Summits feature major partnerships with universities including George Washington University, Tufts University, the University of Chicago, University of California-Davis, and many more. In 2018, we will continue to bring Food Tank Summits to existing and new cities including Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, New York City, New Orleans, and more.The entire NYC Food Tank Summit can also be viewed remotely FREE via Facebook Live and live on FoodTank.com. Additionally, Food Tank will be featuring backstage interviews with speakers all day using Instagram Live and Periscope/Twitter Live. After the event, all videos will be immediately archived on Food Tank’s YouTube Channel.

ABOUT FOOD TANK

Food Tank is a nonprofit building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. We aim to educate, inspire, advocate, and create change. We spotlight and support environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change.

ABOUT ReFED

ReFED is a multi-stakeholder nonprofit, powered by a network of the nation’s leading business, nonprofit, foundation, and government leaders committed to reducing U.S. food waste. ReFED takes a data-driven approach to move the food system from acting on instinct to insights to solve our national food waste problem.

ABOUT THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION

For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation’s mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot—or will not. To learn more, please visit www.rockefellerfoundation.org.

A very limited number of press passes available—contact Bernard Pollack at 312-843-8612 or at bernard@foodtank.com.

#FRNSpeaks: LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY, BON APPÉTIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, AND ST. JOSEPH'S FOOD PROGRAM

AT LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY’S FRN CHAPTER, CO-PRESIDENTS SARAH DIAMOND AND LINDSAY HOLSEN WORK TO ALLEVIATE FOOD INSECURITY IN THE FOX CITIES VALLEY OF WISCONSIN.

“Don’t just learn. Engage.” The motto of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, is certainly an apt description of what the students involved in the school’s Food Recovery Network chapter do every day. Education and engagement stretch beyond the boundaries of the campus to include some thirty cities, towns, and villages in three counties of northeastern Wisconsin, known as the Fox Cities Valley. In the 2015-2017 academic years, two students, Sarah Diamond (International Relations) and Lindsay Holsen (Biochemistry and Spanish) led the FRN chapter as co-presidents. As they reflect on each other’s growth through Lawrence University and FRN, each lovingly praises the other.

Sarah and Lindsay began volunteering with FRN during their first years of college and feel that their food recovery experiences have given them “so, so much,” as Sarah puts it. “It shaped me as a person. In my professional career, hunger and food security are always going to be my bottom lines. It’s something that just makes me cringe, the fact that people are hungry.” Sarah’s hopes will come true in August when she starts her Year of Service through the AmeriCorps VISTA program with the FRN national office in College Park, Maryland.

Lindsay calls their entire team of nine students a “stellar crew.” “We had the chance to tour Feeding America in Appleton, have an annual end-of-year barbecue to celebrate our work, and definitely know how to rock a hairnet,” she recalls. Lindsay’s three years working with FRN student volunteers, partner organizations, and chefs from the Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO), the dining provider at Lawrence University, taught her to navigate ever-changing connections. “I experienced the many difficulties of maintaining relationships with groups that frequently change management. However, I have also seen so many people benefit from the food we provide and others who become more aware of the [impact of] their actions.” Lindsay, like Sarah, sees that  her work over the last three years “has shaped my dedication to serving others and working to change mindsets about waste within many aspects of society.” She will continue as the chapter’s treasurer in Fall 2017.

The Lawrence University leadership team participating in a food recovery. 

MARK BIESACK, EXECUTIVE SOUS CHEF AT BON APPÉTIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY AT LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY, IS “PROUD TO BE AFFILIATED WITH FRN”.

Mark Biesack stands out among the many inspirational people whom Sarah and Lindsay have met through their food recovery efforts. Mark is proud of the dramatic change he has seen over the past few years at Lawrence University. Students have more interest in what kind of food is chosen, how it is prepared, and what his staff does with items they don’t serve. Mark’s many years of experience inform his perception of food awareness at Lawrence:

“With the needs of others being highly publicized these days, people are wanting to be a part of something GOOD. This is especially true of college students. Students are asking questions and taking an interest. They want to make sure that not only are we sourcing our food responsibly, but that we are discarding it appropriately as well, whether that be composting or donating through FRN.”

Mark describes how BAMCO, before working with FRN, tried doing their own food recovery programs for the first couple years at Lawrence. Even though he built a relationship with the local Salvation Army, the logistics of recovering and donating food were difficult.

“While we had extra food to donate, we didn’t have the systems, pans, labor, or organization to make it happen on a regular basis. Now that we’ve partnered with Food Recovery Network, it’s so awesome to know that all we need to do is compile our donation, chill it down, and [the students] take care of it from there!”

Mark has a very high opinion of the FRN team with whom his staff has a “great relationship.” He especially enjoys seeing student leaders in the hallway who tell him about a new organization looking for food donations. He would very much like to increase the number of food collections from the current number of three days.

IN APPLETON, WISCONSIN, THE HOME OF LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY, NEARLY 1 OUT OF 5 PEOPLE LIVES AT OR BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL.

One day early in 1982, while Thomas Schlitz was driving to Green Bay, Wisconsin, he heard on the radio that 400 people were being laid off by a local company. His immediate reaction was to ask how these people were going to survive. After Schlitz saw fields full of crops around him, he had the inspiration to ask local farmers for relief donations. This generous initiative would eventually become the St. Joseph Food Program, now run by St. Joseph’s Church in Appleton, WI.

In Spring 2016, The Lawrence FRN chapter partnered with St. Joe’s (as it’s called informally) to help distribute 30 tons of fresh food and non-perishable items, per week, to the low-income and temporarily unemployed population of the Fox Cities Valley. According to Scott Schefe, the food manager at St. Joe’s, FRN volunteers delivered 118 pounds of food the first day alone. His clients “loved the food, especially since it was already prepared and portioned. It made it very easy on us.” Both St. Joe’s and the students look forward to building a stronger relationship in the 2017-2018 school year.

The chapter has also teamed with the Fox Cities Salvation Army and Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley. Sarah’s favorite memories with Boys and Girls Club were “just sitting
with and watching the kids trying new foods they had never tried before...There was one girl especially, who had never eaten a vegetable in her life. I sat with her while she ate a carrot, and told her that she could do it. She did, and was like, ‘Hey, that’s not bad!’ It’s so powerful for kids to learn about food.” Sarah views educating others about healthy eating habits as a powerful and exciting mission of the Food Recovery Network.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

When Lindsay returns to Lawrence in Fall 2017, she hopes to help bring in “new leadership and energy for the group” and reach out to other organizations to increase food deliveries. From what he has already said, Executive Sous Chef Mark Bieseck will undoubtedly be in full support. Sarah Diamond is currently working full-time as the Alumni Programs VISTA on the FRN National staff. She sees Food Recovery Network as “among one of the most politically important organizations out there right now. It’s an organization that goes against the status quo and sees people as humans rather than wallets or numbers.”

Last summer, both Sarah and Lindsay attended Food Recovery Network’s annual conference, the National Food Recovery Dialogue. Sarah was especially moved when she heard a student talk about growing up not knowing from where his next meal would come. His childhood deeply affected his decision to work for FRN “to ensure that no other kid has to feel that way.” Sarah, someone who has never suffered from food insecurity, empathized with this and other speakers. Empathy is the driving force behind the selfless efforts of the Lawrence FRN team.

Lawrence University FRN attends the National Food Recovery Dialogue