SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Digital Commons @ ESF Honors Theses 2015 Food Recovery Network at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University Michelle Blankas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/honors Part of the Environmental Studies Commons, Food Security Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, and the Organization Development Commons Recommended Citation Blankas, Michelle, "Food Recovery Network at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University" (2015). Honors Theses. 76. https://digitalcommons.esf.edu/honors/76 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ ESF. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ESF. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Food Recovery Network at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University By Michelle Blankas Candidate for Bachelor of Science Environmental Studies With Honors April 2015 APPROVED Thesis Project Advisor: ___________________ Second Reader: ___________________ Honors Director: ___________________ Date: ___________________ Abstract Hunger and food waste remain large and unsustainable issues across the Earth. On a college campus, this statement remains true. While Syracuse University (SU) and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) compost pre and post-consumer food, plenty of the edible and perfectly presentable food could have been redistributed instead of composted or thrown out. In fact, over 125 college campuses across the United States participate in a non-profit organization designed to address local food waste and community hunger. This organization is called the Food Recovery Network (FRN). As the founder of the SUNY ESF and SU FRN Chapter, I, along with a group of committed student leaders, mobilized a student run organization on campus that redistributes food from the compost or landfill to the homeless and hungry in the Syracuse area. We recruited members and volunteers for this project, contacted local distributing partners, and coordinated with dining halls. What started as a couple nights a week at one SU dining hall and at a café at ESF became a daily pickup from that dining hall and a weekly pick up from two cafes. By the end of the fall semester, we redistributed about 2,000 pounds of food and by the end of the 2014- 2015 academic year, we recovered over 5,000 pounds of food. Hopefully, as this organization gains more presence on campus, it will continue to combat hunger and waste as well as contribute to both universities’ sustainability goals. Table of Contents Food Recovery Network at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Syracuse University .................................................................................................................................. 1 Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Methods ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Food Recovery Network National ................................................................................................. 6 The Food Distributing Partners ...................................................................................................... 7 The Dining Halls .................................................................................................................................... 9 Student Involvement ......................................................................................................................... 10 Results .......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 16 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 17 Implications and Future Expansion ............................................................................................ 17 ApPendices ................................................................................................................................................. 18 Advertisements ................................................................................................................................... 18 Grants ....................................................................................................................................................... 24 Gratitude ................................................................................................................................................. 30 Media ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 One Page Informational Documents ........................................................................................... 36 Constitution and Recognized Student Organization Material ......................................... 50 Contacts .................................................................................................................................................. 70 References .................................................................................................................................................. 71 Acknowledgments A huge thanks goes out to Food Recovery Network National, Mark Tewksbury, James Zappola, staff at Syracuse University Food Services, partnering food distributing agencies (Dorothy Day, Liberty Resources, Ronald McDonald House), Green Campus Initiatives, FRN volunteers at ESF and SU, partnering student organizations (ESF Music Society, APO, NYPIRG, and BCM), and Bill Shields for making all this possible, for their ongoing support, for their encouragement, for their commitment, and on occasion, funding. Special thanks to E. Katja Fiertz and to Zach Spangler for making FRN at ESF and SU a reality in our time and space. It is only as successful as it is now because we did it together. It was a great pleasure to do this with the both of you! Introduction According to National Geographic, about 1 in 7 Americans rely on local aid programs for food; that is about 46 million people who depend on shelters and soup kitchens for food (Stone, 2014). In 2013, Feeding America wrote that 49.1 million Americans were living in food insecure households which included 33.3 million adults and 15.8 children (Coleman-Jensen, 2013). In an article published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “getting food from the farm to our forks eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of all freshwater consumed in the United States. Yet, 40 percent of food in the United States today goes uneaten,” (Gunders, 2012). With the amount of people who are hungry and the amount of food that goes into waste, a more sustainable way of distributing our food is in order, if not for the nation, at least on our campus. According to Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA), Syracuse University diverts 30 tons of food waste a semester (Food Waste Composting, 2015). A large amount of what goes into OCRRA’s compost is perfectly edible food that was left over from the buffet style food service at the dining halls. The goal of the Food Recovery Network Chapter at SUNY ESF and Syracuse University is to redistribute that good food to shelters and soup kitchens from compost or landfill. The Food Recovery Network is a national organization that started at University of Maryland – College Park in September 2011 (Our Story, 2012). That year, three students from three different campuses formed the Food Recovery Network (FRN). They collected 150-200 pounds of food a night and would then deliver it to shelters in the D.C. area (Our Story, 2012). Then, a leadership of seven students formed the national group which would guide other schools to joining the Food Recovery Network efforts (Our Story, 2012). This paper will illustrate how SUNY ESF and Syracuse University became an official chapter of Food Recovery Network. Methods Food Recovery Network National Food Recovery Network National had an internet campaign that bolstered their reach to the general public. I stumbled upon their advertisement as I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed. After finding out that Syracuse University and SUNY ESF were not participating in the program, I decided I would seize the opportunity of starting this organization on campus. Food Recovery National contacted me after I had submitted a notice of interest in starting this program on campus. Their first point person, Autumn Rauchwek, contacted me in June to provide me