NFRD WHO's Who: Q&A With Claire Cummings of Bon APPÉTITE Management Company Foundation

This is the third post in our NFRD Who's Who series, a collection of interviews with the fantastic leaders who will be speaking at the National Food Recovery Dialogue from April 2-4. Stay tuned – we'll be sharing more interviews as we count down to the NFRD. 

Student activist turned garbage guru, Claire Cummings is the first-ever Waste Programs Manager for Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the food service pioneer that operates more than 650-plus cafés in 33 states for universities, corporations, and museums. Claire has doubled Bon Appétit’s food-recovery programs, developed implementation guides for launching reusable to-go container initiatives, supported the development of a new kitchen-waste-tracking system, and helped launch Imperfectly Delicious Produce, a program that has rescued over 720,000 pounds of produce from going to waste. Claire is one of Food Tank’s 30 Women Under 30 Changing Food, she recently received Saveur’s “Activist” Good Taste Award, and her work has been featured in Bloomberg News, Sunset Magazine, and the New York Times. Claire’s passion for sustainable waste management began when she was a student dining at Bon Appétit's café at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, and continued in her first job with Bon Appétit, as West Coast Fellow. The company created the Waste Programs Manager position for her.

FRN: What are you looking forward to at the conference?

LS: The people, it is all about the people. I hope to leave feeling energized and inspired by all the amazing activism and good work being done to fight waste and feed people throughout the country. I can’t wait to connect with students and other speakers who are passionately and creatively addressing the issue of waste in their community.

FRN: Why are you passionate about food recovery?

LS: Because I refuse to settle with the status quo. The only food system I will accept is one that is just and sustainable for all and until that is a reality I am going to continue to fight for better.

FRN: What's your proudest accomplishment of your career?

LS: Doubling food recovery programs at Bon Appétit in the first year I started working in the field, and recently having helped craft our first company-wide commitment to regular food donation! If you are interested in learning more you should visit http://www.bamco.com/timeline/low-carbon-lifestyle/.

FRN: Time for a fun question. What's your spirit vegetable?

LS: Garlic - one time I bought 12 different varieties of garlic at once (I have the picture to prove it). I happened to be visiting this farm that specializes in garlic growing and got super excited to try all the unique varieties they had available so I got a couple of each variety (over 30 heads of garlic in total). I don’t know if I actually embody the spirit of garlic, I think I just really love garlic.

FRN: Okay, we're having too much fun here -- we've got one more question. If you were a kitchen utensil, what would you be? 

LS: An apron, I like protecting my loved ones from messy situations.

Interested in learning more about Claire's work with the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation? Register for the National Food Recovery Dialogue today and follow Claire on Twitter. 

Kids Say the Darndest Things: Inspiration from THIRD Graders

Danielle DiCristofano of University of Dayton's FRN chapter Skyping with a classroom of third graders at Sheridan Elementary in Dayton, Ohio.

Sometimes FRN takes you to unusual places, like the middle of a elementary school classroom via Skype. Danielle DiCristofano, leader of University of Dayton's FRN chapter, recently had the opportunity to share her story with a group of enthusiastic third graders at Sheridan Elementary School in Dayton, Ohio. Danielle shared her thoughts about the experience with us in the interview below. 

FRN: What did you tell the third graders?

DD: I told the kids about how I started the club and what each team member was responsible for in order for our operation to run smoothly. I also explained the process of what we did each week to get the food from our cafeteria to the food bank. 

FRN: What was your favorite question they asked?

DD: "How has this club affected your life?"  I never really thought about how this would affect myself because the goal of this operation is really to help others. It made me realize that this club has played a huge role in my decision to pick a focus of community nutrition and sustainability in my dietetics studies. This reminded me that a lot of our best learning and growing opportunities happen outside of the classroom!

Questions the students prepared to asked Daneille. 

FRN: How did you feel while talking to them? Inspired in any way?

DD: Talking to these kids reminded me how important it is to ask questions. As we grow older, we tend to feel silly when asking too many questions, but their curiosity sparked some great conversation and ideas that I had never thought of on my own! I was inspired to keep using my unique skills to help others in my own way because the students reminded me that being different can be used as a strength to make this world a better place. Overall, these kids reminded me to approach every situation with enthusiasm and curiosity!

FRN: Do you have any tips for people who are preparing to talk with kids?

DD: You really cannot prepare yourself for a conversation with a group of kids -- they're all wildcards! I would have some good inspirational advice ready for them. I noticed that the teachers really wanted me to inspire their students to find different ways to help others, so they really enjoyed any piece of advice I could offer.

Know a classroom of kids that could use some inspiration from an FRN student leader? Send us an email at info@foodrecoverynetwork.org, and we'll do our best to connect you!

NFRD Who's Who: Q&A with Lana Suarez of the EPA

This is the second post in our NFRD Who's Who series, a collection of interviews with the fantastic leaders who will be speaking at the National Food Recovery Dialogue from April 2-4. Stay tuned – we'll be sharing more interviews as we count down to the NFRD. 

Lana Suarez is currently acting as lead for Sustainable Management of Food, under the Sustainable Materials Management Program in the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division (RCSD), Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) in the Office of Land and Emergency Response (OSWER) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

FRN: What are you looking forward to at the conference?

LS: Absorbing the energy of this group and hearing new, innovative solutions and potential opportunities to difficult issues related to wasted food. 

FRN: Why are you passionate about food recovery?

LS: We all eat food, and, as consumers, we should all take ownership -- regardless of our position, title or organization -- and contribute to solutions to create a sustainable food system.

FRN: What's your proudest accomplishment of your career?

LS: Being a public servant and being able to support the mission of my agency, protecting human health and the environment – every day.

FRN: Time for a fun question. What's your favorite pizza topping?

LS: Eggplant and caramelized onions -- I cannot pick just one!

Interested in learning more about Lana's work with the EPA? Register for the National Food Recovery Dialogue today and follow the EPA on Facebook and Twitter. 

Learning To Be A Leader

Erin and Hannah (on either end) met awesome student leaders from the University of Maryland at The LeaderShape Institute this past January.

As a student-founded and student-focused organization, Food Recovery Network greatly values the development of student leaders. That’s why Hannah and I (Erin) jumped at the chance to speak at the University of Maryland’s LeaderShape Institute in January. This five-day retreat gives students an opportunity to develop a plan to make their vision of an ideal world a reality, and encourages them “to adopt a healthy DIS-regard for the impossible.”

When we arrived, the students had just finished a workshop in which they were asked to write a headline representing a big picture goal that they’d like to see achieved in their lifetime. They thought of things like bringing an end to poverty, hunger, and disease -- all things that most people would say cannot be done. The next day would be all about developing an action plan to understand what part they could play in creating that ideal world.

Hannah and I spoke to two groups of students about FRN, about our work with other student leaders like them, and how FRN could be taken as an example of exactly what they were trying to do: make the impossible (or improbable) possible. The students had a lot of great questions about what made FRN so successful, how we measure that success, and how they could get involved in FRN and similar organizations on their campus. Some of them spoke to us about how they could take the model of FRN and apply it to the issue they were most inspired by, whether that was hunger, inequality, or global health.

Hannah and I were blown away that these students -- most of them freshmen and sophomores -- had such a good grasp on their goals and were already working to achieve them. They were dreaming big and not letting the word “impossible” keep them from trying. Although we are lucky enough to work with students like them every single day through FRN, it was still a great reminder that young people can create change. It was students like them that founded FRN, and it’s students like them that keep it going today.

On that inspiring note, here are some thoughts from FRN student leaders across the country on what it means to be a leader:

“Our leadership team went from being a group of low-key, shy individuals to forces of change on campus who took home the university's 2015 Emerging Student Leader Award! We aced through our communications/public speaking course as well.”

Bilal, University of the Sciences

“Before this, I had never been the true leader of an effort. I had a supportive figure, or a co-leader, but being the founder of this Chapter required me to take the responsibility for implementing a plan and taking all the steps necessary to engage people in it. It has helped me further develop my communication, public speaking, and marketing skills. It has also helped me realize all the dedication it takes to be a primary leader, and I have learned to be assertive when I have to and prepared for all outcomes." 

Megan, Western Washington University

“Before FRN, I had very minimal experience with organizing people and being a leader.  FRN has helped me learn how to organize and coordinate volunteers, along with how to articulate to others specific tasks that need to be accomplished.” 

Mackenzie, Colorado Mountain College

“Being in a position of leadership has helped the leadership team and myself in all of the ways above because of the work we do. Each of our positions overlap and we help one another and the volunteers. For example anyone who volunteers with us has to have an older member with them for at least 10 recoveries. That means everyone has been a trainee and everyone who stays with us will one day become the trainer. It's a lot of fun to think back to when someone was teaching you and now you're helping someone else become a member. It helps with communication and building relationships in the club. you can't be a leader without being able to talk to your "followers."

Allison, Rochester Institute of Technology

“I have been impacted by seeing for myself that students and young people really can make a change if they are empowered enough. When a common cause unites so many people, it's amazing.” 

Mallory, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

“Three out of the six leadership team members from our Food Recovery Network Chapter are currently serving on the planning team for a tri-campus leadership summit for all three of the University of Michigan campuses to take place in February, myself being one of them. I would have never pictured myself in a position such as this if it were not for the leadership experience that I gained through FRN. There is a chance that I may give a presentation about community action at this event, which I know I would not have even considered partaking in two years ago (before I was involved with FRN). FRN has given me the opportunity to use my voice, raise awareness and act around the issues I've always cared about but never knew how to address.”

Kelsey, University of Michigan Dearborn

“FRN has helped me personally by finding something I am passionate about, and want to work with as a career. It has allowed me to become a better student leader, learn to delegate, time management, and other skills I needed to fine tune.”

Carly, Salem College

 

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