HOLLAND – “Fight waste. Feed people.” That’s the motto of the Food Recovery Network, a student-led organization that unites more than 6,000 college students to fight food waste and hunger in the United States.
Surplus food is rescued by volunteers and donated to local nonprofits that support people experiencing varying degrees of food insecurity. Since its founding in 2011, millions of meals have been rescued and donated.
Hope College is one of 195 campuses nationwide that participate in the Food Recovery Network. In Michigan, there are campuses at Hope, Calvin University, Eastern Michigan University, Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Recognizing this as an opportunity to reduce food waste and increase support for local organizations, some student leaders founded a Food Recovery Network chapter at Hope College in 2022. The students partnered with a local community-driven initiative, Lakeshore Food Rescue, to help build a sustainable food recovery and donation system.
Thanks to the support of Hope Dining Services, Lakeshore Food Rescue, Community Action House and numerous volunteers, the program was very successful.
“None of this would have been possible without the training and support we received,” said Dallas Fisher, a student volunteer with the Food Recovery Network. “They have been the cornerstone of our operation from the beginning.”
Although the college’s dining services try to minimize waste, there is inevitably excess left over after meals are prepared. Since the program began in late January, nearly 2,000 pounds of food waste has been salvaged from Phelps Dining Hall, where the food is packaged and delivered to the Community Action House communal kitchen operated by Western Seminary.
Some volunteers had the opportunity to witness the food distribution up close and were grateful that their hard work made a difference.
“Not only seeing the impact you have on the community, but also having meaningful interactions with the people you support means everything to us,” Fisher said. “We are all human beings who belong to the same community, and if I can give my time to others who need it more than I do, it’s not a question of if, but when and where.”
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Hope’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network is a powerful example of how community members can come together to support one another and create positive change. And the beauty is, this is just the beginning.
Curious about the work being done? For more information, visit the Food Recovery Network and Lakeshore Food Rescue online.
— Natalie Hammer will graduate from Hope College in spring 2024. Dallas Fisher is studying engineering at Hope and is co-president of Hope Advocates for Sustainability.
About this series:MiSustainable Holland is a collection of community voices sharing news about local sustainability initiatives.This week’s Sustainability Framework theme: Quality of life: The community, through governmental, religious, business and social organizations, makes decisions that contribute to its own well-being.
