Gold’s Gladiators for Good

Marshall is a very small community of approximately 13,000 people with a poverty rate of 19.8%. This small town is home to Missouri Valley College (MVC). MVC offers a Humanities class also known as Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA). This is a student-led club where you volunteer and get involved in the community. This is led by Professor Jamie Gold, who is a very active member of the Marshall community. 

Joining the Food Recovery Network and addressing the hunger in the local community has been something Jamie Gold had envisioned for a long time. With her vision and dedicated students, Missouri Valley became an official FRN chapter during the Spring of 2019. The MVC Food Recovery Chapter partnered with Fresh Ideas which is the cafeteria on campus. Fresh Ideas has always been a supporter and willing to help MVC FRN Chapter in any way possible.

Mission Possible:

While 2020 was full of obstacles for everyone, the MVC FRN chapter utilized this time to grow so they could operate at a larger level. During this time, they were able to secure a grant and now operate out of their very own building. The building has allowed the MVC FRN Chapter to take their recoveries and package them into individual meals using the food sealer. Prior to the building, the food was packaged in the cafeteria and then distributed. With having a building they are able to store the meals on-site. 

Image: MVC-FRN Chapter new packaging

Additionally, the annual Silent Auction was held virtually for the 2020 year. While the fundraiser looked different than the prior year, it was still very successful. During the 2019 school year the Trivia Night and Silent Auction, the MVC FRN Chapter raised $7,000.00. Due to the pandemic, there was no Trivia Night. Even without the Trivia Night $4,000.00 was still raised. One of the big items was a signed Travis Kelce football!  Proceeds from the fundraisers were used to address hunger in the community.

Image: Steven Sims President of NLA and Savannah Land President of MVC-FRN Chapter loading food from a recovery

Where we are today:

NLA has established strong relationships in the community especially with their food partner Fresh Ideas and their distribution partner Missouri Valley Community Action Agency. Without the partnerships and the support of the community, NLA would not be able to fill the plates for 50 families every week. They are able to store food on-site as well as seal individual meals using their food sealer. 

Image: Savannah Land FRN President using the food sealer to seal the food recovered

On February 14th, the FRN chapter recovered 222 pounds of food in 2 weeks’ time, which is equivalent to 180 sealed trays! The President of the MVC chapter is Savannah Land who describes the food sealer as a “game-changer!” The chapter also does online engagements such as “Sampling with Steven.” This is a time where NLA President Steven samples a food item that they have recovered and gives it a thumbs up or down. So far Steven has had great things about the items they have recovered! 

We are now 3 months into the 2021 year and MVC Food Recovery Chapter has already recovered 820 pounds of food! That is 820 pounds of food that would have ended up in the landfill, but instead is going to feed people experiencing hunger in the community. Thanks to the support of community partners, the MVC Food Recovery Chapter is working to address hunger in the community. If you are ever in Marshall you can find NLA operating out of 166 Court Street in Marshall, MO. You can also follow them on social media:

• Facebook: MVC Non-Profit Leadership Alliance

• Instagram: @mvc_nonprofit
  
  
  
  

All donations to Food Recovery Network matched by PepsiCo – Tuesday 4/27 - Thursday 4/29

In recognition of Stop Food Waste Day today, April 28, 2021, Food Recovery Network has teamed up with PepsiCo to fight against food waste and hunger in our country. 

From Tuesday 4/27 - Thursday 4/29, all donations to FRN, up to $5,000, will be matched by PepsiCo in support of our nationwide efforts to reduce food waste and end hunger. 

Through targeted efforts and strategic partners, despite the adversity 2020 presented to our nationwide network, FRN collectively recovered and donated more than 1.05 million pounds of surplus food, the equivalent of over 875,000 meals to individuals and families experiencing hunger. 

This year, we seek to recover more food to reach more individuals nationwide, particularly in communities with the highest need. Your donation will support FRN in recovering food to work toward ending food waste and feeding everyone who is hungry in the United States.

We thank you for your generous support of our movement!

4 Ways to Get Ready for Stop Food Waste Day on April 28th

Each year, an estimated 30-40% of food is wasted in the U.S. That is the equivalent of 130 billion meals, or a mega-farm the size of over three-quarters of the state of California. (ReFED, 2021). On April 28th, FRN along with our partners at PepsiCo wants to help you stop food waste.

Here is how:

• Donate! Food Recovery Network’s mission is to reduce food waste while addressing hunger by recovering surplus food and donating it to hunger-fighting organizations that serve individuals and communities experiencing food insecurity. We mobilize 4,000 college students, dining providers, food suppliers, and local businesses at and around colleges and universities nationwide in this fight against food waste and hunger.

  From Tuesday, 4/27 - Thursday, 4/29, PepsiCo will match all donations up to $5,000 in support of Stop Food Waste Day. Every dollar counts toward feeding communities across the country. Donate to FRN today!

• Get Creative in the Kitchen. The talented chefs at Aramark put together a video on how you can make a meal from foods that are typically discarded. Try to make your own today and learn how to reduce food waste in your home.

• Connect with FRNds for a PowerHour. Farmfield loss accounts for 17 million tons or 21% of annual food waste (ReFED, 2021). Register here to volunteer for one hour to help identify new commercial farms to donate their surplus with our partners at The FarmLink Project. (April 28, 1pm EST // 10am PST)

• Learn more. Food Tank will host 25+ luminary leaders discussing the importance and offering solutions in how we solve food loss and food waste. Register here! (April 28 2pm EST // 11 PST

At FRN, we believe there is a role for everyone in the stop food waste movement. And the work continues every day. To date, we have recovered and donated more than 4.9 million pounds of food, equivalent to 4.1 million meals. We are grateful to partner with PepsiCo to stop food waste and end hunger this year in celebration of Stop Food Waste Day. We hope you join us!

What Does a Just and Equitable Food System Mean to You?

Today’s food system would look unrecognizable to what we had a century ago. What was once sustained by organic practices and family-owned farming is now a highly industrialized system that disproportionately impacts people of color and communities in need. The result? A system that further exacerbates the connection between food and people.

Enter FRN leaders who are opening the pathway to a system that is inclusive to the needs of all people and the planet. 

What does a just and equitable food system mean to FRN? Watch the videos below to find out. 

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Cassie Olovsson, Manager of Stakeholder Engagement 

Julia Ormond, Advocacy & Outreach Fellow 

Katie Jones, Chief Operating Officer 

Melody Riddle-Wilder, Data & Evaluation Fellow 

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What does a just and equitable food system mean to you? Connect with us on Twitter @FoodRecovery and let us know!

Celebrating a Year of Food Recovery with The Farmlink Project

On April 16, 2020, a handful of friends drove 10,800 eggs in a rented truck from Trafficanda Egg Ranches Inc. to Food Finders in Southern California, hoping to make even a small difference for those in need at the start of the pandemic. Only two days later, on April 18, they helped connect 50,000 pounds of onions from Owyhee Produce in Oregon to Santa Monica’s Westside Food Bank. Starting The Farmlink Project with just a rented U-Haul and a few friends, the founders of this organization had no idea at the time what The Farmlink Project would become. Almost a year later, our internal team has grown by the hundreds, our network of external support has extended far beyond what we ever thought was possible, and we’ve continued to do what we do best - get surplus produce to people who need it.

How We’ve Gotten to Where We Are

The Farmlink Project has been incredibly lucky in securing and maintaining partnerships nationwide that have allowed us to scale our operations up in such a short period of time. Food Finders, our fiscal sponsor, has made it possible for us to accept the donations that fuel our work under its 501c3 status. Since The Farmlink Project’s first week, Uber Freight has been an enthusiastic supporter of ours and ended up covering 98% of The Farmlink Project’s deliveries in 2020, much of which was provided for free through Uber Freight’s Move What Matters campaign. November brought a partnership with Chipotle, which allowed customers nationwide to round up to the dollar to support The Farmlink Project when ordering online. The round-up campaign yielded a total of 1.23 million dollars in donations. The Food Recovery Network has been an incredibly valuable resource in helping us to grow our external team.

The way we move food is simple. We identify surplus produce, find a food bank that will take it, organize transportation, and provide aid to farmers. Since the beginning, our Farms Team has reached out directly to farmers to source surplus produce. Our Hunger Outreach Team identifies communities in need, and our Deals Team coordinates the logistics of getting this food to food banks and then to people. Our Growth Projects aim to expand the services we offer farmers, improve the way we source produce, and create a more sustainable future for our organization as well as the food system. We make an effort every day to stay connected with the parties we work with and to understand their needs. Each of our internal volunteers satisfies a weekly “Doug Hess” standard, named for one of the first farmers we worked with in recognition of his unwavering passion and hard work, by attending a team Power Hour, volunteering at a local farm or food bank, or helping out at a Farmlink Project delivery. 

What We’re Up to Today

To date, we have facilitated the delivery of almost 30 million pounds of food. Our organization has expanded into Mexico, where we’ve moved more than 250,000 pounds of produce since the start of 2021. We’ve raised more than five million dollars since our founding, and, as we are 100% volunteer-run, each individual donation goes directly to minimizing food waste and alleviating food insecurity. On March 25th, The Farmlink Project Co-Founders James Kanoff and Aidan Reilly were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Service Act Award, which they accepted on behalf of the team as a whole. As James said in an organization-wide meeting, “This award does not just celebrate what we have accomplished thus far––it speaks to what we have left to do and emphasizes the faith the Medal of Honor Society has that we will go on to make an even greater impact.” 

The Future of The Farmlink Project

Our mission, strategy, and culture have remained intact throughout our year of incredible growth. As an organization, we are passionate, ambitious, and scrappy. We pride ourselves in being a group of young people who, like our friends at the Food Recovery Network, care deeply about the issues we fight for every day. Our long-term goal is to put ourselves out of business—to help create a new food system in which our work would be obsolete. The Farmlink Project will continue the work we’ve done this year in tackling the systemic issues in the food supply chain, and by building and implementing infrastructure, we hope to eradicate the issues of food waste and food insecurity entirely. We continue to push ourselves to look at these problems from all angles so that we can find creative, innovative ways to solve them.