What can we learn from Texas?

The heartbeat of Food Recovery Network (FRN) is our 140 chapters across the U.S., comprising nearly 4,000 students, dining providers, food supplies, and local businesses who work together to recover surplus food and redistribute it to people in need. In a time when more than 54 million people are experiencing hunger, our work is needed more than ever, in certain areas more than ever. Using FRN10X as our guide, FRN is looking to learn how we can expand quickly, in one of the states with both the supply and demand we seek - Texas.

The model around the city of Houston is one we look to replicate across Texas, and eventually, across all 50 states. In Houston, you have both an ample supply of surplus food, coupled with communities where more than 20% of the population is experiencing hunger. Houston is also home to the University of Houston FRN chapters which, since its founding in 2014, has recovered more than 54,000 pounds of food, or 45,000 meals to people experiencing hunger in the area.

Looking at the map, you will see many of the FRN chapters are located in north Texas, but much of the need for surplus food is in south Texas. We look to establish chapters like the University of Houston -  meaning chapters in closer proximity to the need.

Start or join an existing chapter today.

Through outreach to potential students via social media, as well as activation of large and small employers in the state, we are seeking to add at least 20 chapters in Texas and measure how much more food we can put back into the supply chain as a result of this growth. We anticipate by putting more food into the food system faster, in the areas with the greatest need, we will be able to feed more people faster, ultimately lowering the number of people experiencing food insecurity in Texas.

Our learnings in Texas - what it takes to recruit and retain chapters, what it means to work within a new network of nonprofit partner agencies to distribute food, and how it shapes the contributions of our students in a given community - are all things we are looking to learn over the next ten weeks. We will take those learnings and seek to replicate the successes across all ten states of focus in the fall.

Please join us in expanding our network in Texas. You can do this by donating to FRN to support our outreach or connecting with program staff to connect us with the appropriate person at your Texas university.

Start or join an existing chapter today.

Top 3 Reasons to become an FRN Chapter

The COVID-19 pandemic has required humans to adapt in ways which could not have been imagined a year ago, and Food Recovery Network (FRN) as an organization is no different. At a time when more than 54 million people are experiencing hunger, our work is needed now more than ever. Along with our dedicated student leaders, we want you to join in the movement to recover surplus food to feed everyone who is hungry in the U.S.

So why should you join FRN?:

1. Because there are multiple ways for your chapter to show your commitment to your community. To start a chapter, you will choose one of three “tracks” to organize your chapter around: (1) recovering surplus food from your campus or a business in your community; (2) raising awareness about the fractured food system; or (3) advocating for change through activism and engagement. All are essential components to building a more just and equitable food system. Our program team helps you each step of the way.

2. Because you can help people in your community today. Issues of excess food and access to food can feel huge and rife with reasons that seem too big to begin to address. But FRN offers flexible ways to help your community based on your capacity on a given day. This may involve recovering surplus food at least once during a semester, sharing articles about food insecurity in your community with 10 friends or emailing your elected officials about ways they can help feed people today through a change of policies or regulations. It is about the time you have to contribute, and every little bit helps.

3. No really, every little bit helps. In the last 10 years, FRN recovered enough surplus food to provide 4.1 million meals. To give you an idea of what that means, this is equivalent to providing one meal to nearly every person in Oregon for one day. In 2020 alone, amidst a pandemic, FRN provided 868,771 meals to people in need, that is nearly one meal to every person in South Dakota. It also translates to over 7.4 million pounds of CO2 emissions prevented. This is what happens when every chapter does a little bit – it adds up to a whole lot.

Start or join an existing chapter today.

FRN Shoutouts: WPI, UIC, UVM

In Fall 2020 many FRN chapters faced challenges they had never known before. Some chapters had to find new food donors, others had to recruit additional volunteers virtually and many found recovery alternatives to keep their chapter engaged while remaining socially distant. To start this year off right, we want to highlight three chapters that wowed this past fall semester due to their adaptability, dedication to the mission of FRN, and outstanding leadership.

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) went outside the box for what it means to be a part of this network. Their food donor did not permit them to pick up leftover food due to social distancing guidelines, and their partner agency chose not to accept donations. When met with this obstacle, WPI adapted by finding a new nonprofit partner, Friendly House. They donated non-perishable food items, holiday gifts, and over 200 masks to Friendly House, which is founded on the mission“for the educational, social and family betterment of residents of the City of Worcester.” WPI  also created over 30 different care packages for the homeless that consisted of masks, hand sanitizer, socks, food, and hygiene products!

• The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) continued to recover food during the pandemic. UIC was able to supply the Franciscan Outreach Center with 7,589 lbs of food recovered from an on-campus dining hall and the University of Illinois Health Hospital. Speaking on their success, chapter leader Snehitha Talugula said, “our recovery efforts are endless and we are always looking for ways we can continue to make an impact during these uncertain times.” UIC also organized a Webinar featuring two faculty members as guest speakers talking about issues including Food waste, food insecurity, and the COVID19 pandemic. 

• Being a chapter leader during COVID-19 has certainly been challenging, but Sarah Geller from the University of Vermont (UVM) made supporting her volunteers a priority this Fall. Sarah noted, “As president of the club this semester, I learned that leadership involves a high level of empathy. This semester was not what anyone had been anticipating, so I was very flexible and never pressured anyone into taking on a role they couldn't handle.” Sarah communicated with her leadership team and made sure that they knew that she was there to help.  She got to know members of her chapter more and used her connections with UVM Civic Engagement to get additional supplies. It was this relationship that allowed FRN @ UVM to hold two recoveries aimed at students without cars, as the office of Civic Engagement provided a van for transportation.

Thank you to the chapter leaders and volunteers at UIC, WPI, and UVM for your dedication to the Food Recovery Network’s mission. Your work this past semester has made your community healthier and more secure, and we cannot wait to see what you do in 2021. Happy New Year!

Expanding Chapter Impact

What goes into starting a chapter where you live?

““We were really worried about it [food recovery] coming into COVID-19 because we need to enforce proper guidelines but we also want to continue to reach these homeless shelters that we’ve had relationships with for the last two years.”

— Snehitha Talugula, FRN Chapter President at the University of Illinois Chicago

The FRN chapter at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) exceeded expectations by continuing to recover food from their campus dining hall and the UI Health Hospital during the pandemic. From June-December, 2020 the UIC Chapter recovered and donated more than 8,000 pounds of food to The Franciscan Outreach Center, their partner agency that provides healthy meals and housing to people experiencing homelessness. 

In an interview with FRN, Snehitha Talugula, UIC Chapter President, explained that these dining facilities have larger quantities of excess food now due to the reduced number of people staying in the hospital and living in dorms on campus. She continued, “We really did not want any of that [food] to go to waste, so we’re really glad that we have dedicated volunteers that are prepared to take this food and donate it to our homeless shelter, the Franciscan Outreach Center.”

In addition to maintaining their food recovery program, the UIC Chapter also organized an educational webinar for fellow students and community members to discuss food waste and food security during the pandemic.

“We wanted to keep our members active, but we wanted to respect their wishes to maintain social distancing and quarantine.”

— Snehitha Talugula

Executive team members worked together to identify professors on campus with expertise in urban health, food waste, and food insecurity in Chicago communities to speak on their panel. The webinar was a great success, and the recording is available here. 

When asked about her chapter’s future plans, Snehitha shared, “Our recovery efforts are endless and we are always looking for ways we can continue to make an impact during these uncertain times.” Check out the full interview for more of Snehitha’s inspirational thoughts!

What goes into starting a chapter where you live?

Activating Campus Resources

Sarah Geller and Alex De Luise lead the FRN Chapter at the University of Vermont (UVM), formerly an affiliate of the Campus Kitchens Project. Like many other FRN Chapters, the pandemic created unfavorable circumstances that impacted their food recovery efforts, but by taking things one step at a time, the UVM Chapter managed to safely resume campus food recoveries and increase their volunteer capacity in the process!

What goes into starting a chapter where you live?

Successful campus food recoveries depend heavily on coordination with dining services, volunteer capacity, and transportation capabilities. When the fall semester began, the UVM Chapter started by contacting Marissa Watson, Sodexo’s Sustainability Manager at UVM, who helped them get set up to recover surplus food from different food service locations on campus. Next, the chapter focused on volunteer capacity and access to transportation. 

“The semester was certainly a challenge. We went in not knowing what the outcome would be.”

— Sarah Geller

Pre-pandemic, the UVM Chapter relied on their Leadership Team members with vehicles to transport food donations to their partner agency. However, many of the chapter’s volunteers, including Alex, transitioned to remote learning for the fall semester which made it difficult for the chapter to coordinate food recoveries. To get more people involved, Sarah and Alex contacted Jerome Budomo, Director of Student Life in UVM’s Office of Civic Engagement, who helped them secure access to school vans to support their work.

New transportation capacity allowed more students without personal vehicles to participate in food recovery efforts. In the past, the UVM Chapter could only organize one food recovery per week with two volunteers, one of which had a personal vehicle. In contrast, access to the school van allowed the Chapter to organize two food recoveries per week with teams of five volunteers. 

“The amount of food that we were able to recover not only touches on how much food waste there is but how much opportunity there is to recover food, especially from our campus.”

— Alex De Luise

In an interview with FRN, Sarah commented, “The semester was certainly a challenge. We went in not knowing what the outcome would be. We tried to plan as much as possible but with COVID-19 there’s not much planning you can do.” Despite the challenges, they didn’t give up. Check out our full interview with Sarah and Alex to learn more about their collaborative approach to campus food recovery. 

We asked Sarah, “What is your favorite part of being a chapter member?”

Sarrah replied, “Getting to meet and interact with so many different people from all different backgrounds... People from all over campus from all the different colleges at UVM are involved in the Food Recovery Network because food is universal; food is something that connects everyone. I love that I’ve been able to meet so many different people, including community members.

“It’s opened up a lot of opportunities for me as far as networking and connections, and being able to get involved in the community and feeling like I’m doing something to make an impact.”

— Sarah Geller

“[FRN] It’s not a club that’s truly on campus, we get to be a part of the community...Seeing how a food system can work in your city and not just your college is the best part for me.”

— Alex De Luise

What goes into starting a chapter where you live?