This spring, the Resource Development and Program Support Committee of Food Recovery Network’s (FRN) Student and Alumni Advisory Board (SAAB) is sharing a series of blog posts about how participating in FRN during college can assist students in finding rewarding careers post-graduation.

Elaine, a member of SAAB leader and FRN Chapter founder, starts off the series with her story about how her involvement with FRN taught her important skills and focused on her career goals.     

About Me and My Connection to FRN

Food systems have interested me for many years, and I have been concerned about climate change for as long as I can remember. I first learned about FRN at a sustainability conference in 2018, and I instantly recognized food recovery as an important tool in the fight against climate change. Food recovery was the nexus of my interests in food systems, social justice, and climate change mitigation. On the drive home from the sustainability conference, I started devising a plan to implement an FRN chapter at my school. 

In January 2019, the chapter that I founded at Western Kentucky University (WKU) carried out its very first food recovery. In the two years since, FRN at WKU has recovered over 5,500 pounds of food from thirteen food businesses and connected that food with people experiencing hunger in the community via a dozen different hunger-fighting nonprofit partner agencies. In doing so, more than 50 unique volunteers have carried out well over 300 separate food recoveries. 

Leading my chapter taught me invaluable skills that I will use in my future jobs: I have learned how to recruit and manage volunteers, develop new programs, juggle multiple responsibilities at once, form relationships with other organizations, make time-sensitive decisions under pressure, and keep organized records of data. 

FRN Forging a Pathway Into My Career 

Like many FRN volunteers, I plan to work in sustainable food systems for the remainder of my career. My experiences with FRN have provided me with valuable food recovery-specific knowledge that would make me a helpful addition to the team at any nonprofit or business that works in food recovery. These experiences have also given me knowledge and experience that would be beneficial in any position. After the chapter I founded had been operating for a semester, I wanted to become more involved with FRN. I applied to join SAAB, for which I have now served as a committee chair for two terms. My position on SAAB, for which I lead a committee of FRNds from across the country, has taught me valuable leadership and organizational skills. A few months after applying for SAAB, I saw a listing for an internship with FRN’s Food Recovery Verified (FRV) program in a newsletter from FRN National and quickly applied. Over the next year, I had the opportunity to serve as the FRV intern for three separate terms. Through my internship, I gained proficiency in several commonly-used data management platforms and learned how to evaluate and develop nonprofit programs. I developed remote-working skills, which have proved very useful in my current remote-work position.  Furthermore, I developed strong relationships with my mentors at FRN, who are immensely supportive and go out of their way to share professional development resources and advice with me.  

I graduated in December 2020, but I am still involved in food recovery work. Since last fall I have worked in a program development position for Glean Kentucky, implementing a regional gleaning initiative. Without the support and advice that FRN National gave me when FRN at WKU was still a Chapter in Progress, I would have no idea how to form a school-specific food recovery organization, let alone a regional gleaning initiative that works with many farms, volunteers, and nonprofit partners. Every way that I have been involved with FRN - leading a chapter, serving on SAAB, working as an intern, and, most recently, volunteering as a Regional Outreach Coordinator - has increased my confidence in my abilities and taught me new and valuable skills.

I encourage every FRN volunteer to become more involved in FRN’s programming whenever possible, from joining SAAB to joining the FRN Alumni Network Facebook group, so as to benefit from the varied, helpful, and important skills and resources that each opportunity offers. I am entirely confident that the lessons that I learned from FRN will continue to help me throughout my career, and I am sure that involvement with FRN will help students throughout the network kickstart meaningful and fulfilling careers. If you have not already signed up for FRN’s newsletter, joined the Portal, or joined the FRN Alumni Network Facebook group, take this opportunity to do so - connecting with FRN will bring you so many opportunities to make an impact, both as a student and as an alum!