Beyond Recoveries: Getting Out Into the Community

This post was written by our awesome FRNd Jessie Cohen, President of University of Pittsburgh's Food Recovery Heroes. Jessie can be contacted at jec175@pitt.edu.

Food Recovery Heroes Vice President Emily Hanna paints a child's face to help raise money for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Food Recovery Heroes, the University of Pittsburgh chapter of FRN, spent a Saturday afternoon in December painting children’s faces. What does this have to do with our mission to reduce food waste on campus and re-purpose surplus food? It has to do with building partnerships, giving back to our community in unique ways, and supporting larger efforts to combat food insecurity.

For the two years that Food Recovery Heroes has existed, we’ve been asked to face paint at the East End Food Co-op’s annual Winterfest. The Food Co-op is Pittsburgh’s only member-owned natural and organic food market, and they hold an event every December to raise money for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Volunteers always have a great time painting faces, sharing what we do on campus, and interacting with the hundreds of community members that come out to support the Food Bank! 

After a great time at Winterfest, we kicked off spring semester with additional opportunities beyond recoveries to give back to the Pittsburgh community. Food Recovery Heroes had incredible experiences preparing lunch for people at the Ronald McDonald House and at one of our partner agencies, Jubilee Soup Kitchen! 

Volunteers at the Ronald McDonald prepared a vegetable tray, sandwiches, and dessert for families staying at the Ronald McDonald house in order to get world-class care for their children at the Children’s Hospital next door. It was both fun and rewarding to feed families that were beyond appreciative to have a meal prepared for them. 

FRH leaders and volunteers help prepare a meal for Pittsburgh's Ronald McDonald house. (From left: Mitchell Moyer, Emily Hanna, Neema Shayo, and Jessica Schatz)

FRH leaders and volunteers prepared a wide variety of healthy food for the families staying at Pittsburgh's Ronald McDonald house to eat.

"Many of these families are coming from out of the area, often for longer stretches of time," said Jessica Schatz, the FRH Community Outreach Organizer. "By offering low-cost housing, free meals and other services, Ronald McDonald provides a great resource to these families, who truly need and appreciate the help. ... I'm glad we were able to support their mission!" 

FRH's Community Outreach Coordinator Jessica Schatz paints a child's face pink.

Every week, Food Recovery Heroes re-purposes unused trays of hot food from the University of Pittsburgh dining hall to Jubilee Soup Kitchen. But what do they do with the food? Who do they serve? These are the questions our volunteers received answers to as they set up, prepared, and served a meal to the many people who benefit from the soup kitchen!

Food Recovery Heroes VP Emily Hanna says that, “It was really rewarding getting to meet some of the individuals we are regularly donating to and it was great to learn more about all the fantastic services provided by Jubilee.” 

These events beyond recoveries got us out into the community and helped us connect with a variety of inspiring organizations. The experience has made it extremely clear that connecting with and feeding our neighbors is just as important (and fun!) as reducing food waste on campus!

Inspired by what you read? Keep up with University of Pittsburgh's Food Recovery Heroes on Facebook and through their website. 

NFRD Who's Who: Q&A with Pete Pearson

This is the seventh 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.

Pete Pearson is the Director of Food Waste US at World Wildlife Fund. Pete works on food waste prevention and food recovery, helping businesses understand the intersection of agriculture and wildlife conservation. For almost a decade, he has been working as a change agent within various businesses and nonprofits on regenerative agriculture, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Pete has led local and national sustainability programs within the retail grocery sector across 2,000 grocery stores in 37 states. He also has more than 10 years of technology experience with companies including Hewlett-Packard, Accenture and Albertsons. He has worked with public schools and hospitals as an independent sustainability consultant, co-founded a nonprofit focused on sustainable agriculture, and has also co-produced a documentary film on local food production. Pete currently lives in Washington, D.C. and enjoys fly fishing, boating, and exploring the outdoors with his family.

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

Pete Pearson: I always love getting together with passionate people who want to make the world a better place. So much is possible and these events are energizing.

FRN: Why are you passionate about food recovery?

PP: Food is a basic human need, and the choices we make as participants in the food system are directly linked to the planet, ecosystems and the species we want to save. Transforming the food system will revolutionize our relationship and impact on the planet. 

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

PP: Producing, filming, and editing an independent documentary was one of the most challenging and rewarding accomplishments professionally. Storytelling is such a vital element to catalyzing change. To do it well takes incredible commitment, skill and creativity. I can’t wait to try it again!

FRN: Time for some fun. What would you say your spirit vegetable is?

PP: According to an online quiz, my spirit vegetable is Red Cabbage. No idea how that was determined, but according to Wiki, it’s an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin K and contains anthocyanins which have anti-carcinogenic properties. :)

Interested in learning more about Pete's work with World Wildlife Fund? Register for the National Food Recovery Dialogue today and follow WWF on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

FRNds Take Capitol Hill: Lobby Day 2016

This has been a huge year for food recovery. John Oliver made us laugh; the USDA and EPA set goals for our nation; Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin told us to “Just Eat It”; and FRN reached 1 million pounds of recovered food. We think it’s the perfect time for our FRNds to head to Capitol Hill for the first time ever to advocate for food recovery policy on a national scale, so we are doing just that on April 4th!

We have more than 50 amazing FRN chapter leaders confirmed to attend Lobby Day and more than 10 (and counting) Congressional offices for them to meet with. During our meetings, FRN student leaders, national staff, and dining representatives will urge legislators to support Rep. Chellie Pingree’s Food Recovery Act, vote for Rep. Jerry McNerney’s Food Waste Accountability Act, and think deeply about creating new legislation that makes food recovery easier and more enticing. FRN chapter leaders are proving that food recovery is safe and effective across the country each day, and now they’re bringing their experience and energy to Washington.

If you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet, you still can! Registration for both the NFRD and Lobby Day closes March 16th. If you can’t attend Lobby Day this year, remember that you can always engage your elected officials about the causes you’re invested in. Join us in tweeting at your elected officials on April 4th, and stay tuned to our social media for information about writing senators and representatives as Lobby Day approaches.

We can’t wait to have our #FRNdsOnTheHill for #FRNLobbyDay2016!

Excited as we are about Lobby Day? Have questions? Please email our Lobby Day team at lobby.day@foodrecoverynetwork.org for more information.

NFRD Who's Who: Q&A with Jenny Rustemeyer of "Just Eat It"

This is the sixth 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.

Jenny Rustemeyer is a Leo Award-winning producer with Peg Leg Films, a tiny production company that makes socially conscious films to inspire big personal action. Along with her partner Grant, she produced "The Clean Bin Project", a documentary film and blog about a year-long competition to live zero waste. More recently, she spent 6 months living off discarded food and produced "Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story", a film that won 13 festival awards, garnered more than 12 million trailer views on Facebook, premiered prime time on MSNBC, and has played in hundreds of communities around the world. A dedicated recycler, zero-waster, and community-builder, Jenny has collaborated on many public events including the first Feeding the 5000 food waste awareness event in Canada and a self-supported, 30-city, cross-country film tour by bicycle.

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

JR: Hearing real stories of what others are doing to combat food waste! (I may be a little star struck by the other keynote speakers.) 

FRN: Why are you passionate about food recovery?

JR: Food is essential; having access to healthy food is a basic human right. Creating equity in the food system is the starting point for making a more equitable world.

FRN: Tell us your proudest professional accomplishment.

JR: Going from making a movie in our basement to being prime time on MSNBC. And conquering my fear of public speaking.

FRN: We like to have fun here, so here's a silly question. What's your spirit vegetable?

JR: My spirit vegetable is a carrot -- sweet, homegrown, and sometimes wonky. 

Interested in learning more about Jen's film Just Eat It? Register for the National Food Recovery Dialogue today to meet Jen and secure your tickets for our screening in Washington D.C. on April 3. 

FRN at Michigan's 4th Annual Food for Thought Dinner

This blog post is brought to you by Madi Togrul, current president of FRN at Michigan, University of Michigan's chapter. Madi has been involved with FRN at Michigan since her freshman year and has been an active leader of the chapter for the past three years. She can be reached at mtogrul@umich.edu.

Madi (standing, left, with scarf) introducing FRN at Michigan's 2016 Food for Thought Dinner speakers. 

This year was our fourth annual Food for Thought Dinner and the biggest so far! We had over 70 students come to hear panelists speak on issues of food waste and sustainability. Each year, we reach out to local businesses and ask if they would be interested in recovering food for us in the days leading up to the event. This year we had donations of recovered food from Amer’s Mediterranean Deli, Babo Market, Silvio’s Organic Ristorante and Pizzeria, Mezes Greek Grill, Afternoon Delight, and the student-run organization Student Food Co. We served recovered food to clearly demonstrate our mission of fighting waste while feeding people. In previous years, we have had facilitated group discussions about issues of hunger and waste. This year, we invited five community members involved in sustainability and food work to come to our campus and speak about what they do and how they contribute to the Ann Arbor community. 

A full crowd of students and members from the greater U-M community turned out for FRN at Michigan's annual Food for Thought Dinner.

Our first panelist was Noelle Bowman, the Chairwoman of the Waste, Recycling, and Packaging Policy Action Team for the Washtenaw Food Policy Council and the Solid Waste Program Specialist of the Washtenaw County Office of the Water Resources Commissioner, Solid Waste Division. She spoke about the kinds of packaging waste generated in food service facilities, its negative impacts on the environment, and shared ways to reduce that kind of waste. The second panelist was Sebastian Wreford, the Manager of Food Donor Relations at Food Gatherers. Food Gatherers is our local community partner and the food bank that serves Washtenaw County. Sebastian spoke about the role FRN plays in Food Gatherers’ distributions and about how and where they serve the food we recover. He also thanked our organization for our continued involvement with Food Gatherers. The third panelist was Chef John Merucci, the head chef at U-M's South Quad’s dining hall. John spoke about Michigan Dining’s role in our recoveries and shared the ways that Michigan Dining is working to reduce waste in its kitchens and dining halls. The fourth panelist was Amanda Sweetman, the Program Manager for The Farm at St. Joe’s. She spoke about her work as a farmer at St. Joseph Mercy’s hospital farm, sharing her perspectives on environmental stewardship, education, and community building. She also spoke about the ways that the hospital utilizes the farm as a healing tool for patients. The fifth and final panelist to speak was Professor Joe Trumpey, a professor in the Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan. Trumpey spoke about his own personal farm and the creative work that he does both there and on campus that focuses on biodiversity, modern agriculture, and ecological sustainability. 

A student enjoying the refreshments, all of which were recovered from local restaurants in Ann Arbor.

This dinner is important for our community because it provides us the opportunity to share what we do with the greater student body at the university. This year we engaged the local community as well, bringing in active community members to speak about their involvement with sustainability efforts and food waste in Ann Arbor. We share our mission with both those who attend the event and those businesses that donate food by serving only food that would have otherwise been thrown away. We recover all the food we serve and the event is entirely zero-waste, thanks to compostable utensils and plates supplied by the University’s Student Sustainability Initiative. 

Students line up to grab fresh, recovered produce from U-M's Student Food Co.

At this year’s Food for Thought Dinner, I learned about a wide variety of ways that people in the Ann Arbor community are working to reduce food waste and promote sustainable and responsible practices regarding food. I also came to realize that students at our university are invested and interested in the greater Ann Arbor community and vice versa. Seeing so many people come together to speak about preventing waste and fighting hunger was truly inspiring. 

I would tell other FRNds looking to host events like this to plan ahead! Organizing panelists, booking a location, and reaching out to potential food donors are the most important aspects of the event and require advanced planning. Advertising is also hugely important; we had such a great turnout because we advertised through a variety of mediums and we started advertising early and continued it all the way up to the event. Finally, I would urge FRNds looking to host events like this to sit down together and talk about what FRN’s mission means to them! The best part about hosting a large, involved event like this is sharing your mission with so many different people. Make sure you know what you want to say about FRN and the work that we do, as well as what kinds of advice and encouragement you want to offer to those who attend the event. The more passionate you are about the mission you’re communicating, the more people will see that and feel motivated to get involved.

Inspired by what you read? Keep up with FRN at Michigan and their future events on Facebook and Twitter.