Students Mike DeJoseph and Rianna Bottger are champions of reducing food insecurity on campus and in our local community. They are spearheading the efforts of the College’s Food Recovery Network (FRN) to recover surplus food from Cheney Dining Hall to provide to our students facing food insecurity and to a local agency also fighting hunger. FRN is looking for volunteers–why don’t you join them?!
All around the world, and at home, we face a big problem. The coexistence of food waste and food insecurity.
In the United States, 30-40% of the food produced annually is wasted, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the same time, 13.5% of U.S. households face food insecurity each day. This equates to 92 billion pounds of food entering the landfill each year, while close to 46 million people face hunger and starvation each day. Come again? On a national level, the United States can provide food security to just over 85% of the population while only utilizing 60%-70% of the total raw food material produced. Yet, food insecurity is still present despite the surplus of waste. A completely mind-boggling conundrum. At the Springfield College Food Recovery Network, we are here to change that.
“Fight waste, feed people.” Those four words serve as the pinnacle of the Food Recovery Network’s battle cry. With all of the wasted food that occurs in the world, this network engages in the battlefield each week to recover food that would otherwise be wasted to give to those who need it. National Food Recovery Network chapters exist around the country on college campuses, with a Springfield College chapter that has been going strong since March 2023. Since then, we have recovered over 7,000 pounds of food that otherwise would’ve gone to waste from our very own dining hall.
Each week, in partnership with Harvest Table at Cheney, our team of volunteers meets to recover any surplus food from the dining hall. We package the extra trays of food into individual portions to supply to the Mary Ann Coughlin Pride Pantry, our very own on campus food pantry available to all students and staff. Every week, Rachel’s Table, our community partner organization, collects the remaining recovered food to distribute locally to individuals in need and to the Salvation Army. In this way, we prevent food from being wasted at Springfield College while simultaneously feeding our local community. Check out what we do at the Food Recovery Network.
With 92 billion pounds of food waste and 46 million people battling hunger, it does not have to be this way. We do not have to waste billions of pounds of food in this country. The choice to fight the status quo is in our hands. Join us in being part of something that is bigger than yourself. Embrace the joy, mission, and purpose that comes when we help one another. Engage in the battlefield of the fight for good. This is who we are as Springfield College students: a community that engages in leadership and service to others. We are people who do hard things and take action when others need our help. Together, we can fight waste, feed people, and work to end food waste and food insecurity in our lifetime!
Please join us! Support the Springfield College Humanic’s philosophy of service to others on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 PM in the Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge Room (C) in the Flynn Campus Union. See you there!
Sources for national food waste and insecurity statistics:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
How You Can Help
Please consider donating to the Mary Ann Coughlin Pride Pantry. Physical donations can be accepted at the Flynn Campus Union any time the building is open. Items can be left on the rack located directly outside the pantry on the main level of the Campus Union (just across from the Career Center). Monetary donations are also appreciated, and can be made online at springfield.edu/give. In the drop down menu for fund designation, click on “Mary Ann Coughlin Pride Pantry.” Follow us on Instagram for regular updates.
About the author
Rianna is a fourth-year student in the Springfield College Physician Assistant Studies program. She is incredibly grateful to the devoted volunteers who dedicate their time each week to feeding people and fighting waste with the Food Recovery Network since founding the Springfield chapter at the start of 2023. Rianna is excited to continue to make a positive impact on the community with food recoveries and looks forward to a medical career in rural, underserved areas.
About the author
Mike is a third-year undergraduate student in the Physical Therapy program at Springfield College. Mike chose Springfield College due to its humanics mission statement and to pursue Physical Therapy in hopes to improve people’s lives. He has been involved in the Food Recovery Network for the past two years and has seen its tangible impact thanks to the amazing group of people engaged in the mission.
