The Food Recovery Network @Brown is a collection of individuals and student groups that recover food from dining halls on the Brown University campus, and bring it to people who need it. Through a partnership with Brown Dining Services we pick up food from eateries around campus that would have been thrown out, and then we deliver it to homeless shelters and meal sites in downtown Providence. Along the way, we’re building a movement and strengthening our communities!
One out of seven households in Rhode Island are at risk of going hungry every day, and one out of six children live in poverty. At the same time, the U.S. produces over 34 million tons of food waste every year, spends 1 billion dollars just to dispose of food waste, and recovers only 3% of that food. All of the wasted food sits in landfalls and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Summary: Lots of food waste, lots of hungry people.
Solution: Get the food to the people.
We use a model where individuals and student groups each commit to pick up and deliver food one night a week. We also keep a list of on-call drivers who pick up leftover food from special events on campus. We are currently looking to continue that work, as well as expand our efforts to restaurants on Thayer St. and other college campuses in Rhode Island. If you want to get involved, email bchesler2916@gmail.com for more information. If you are part of a student group that wants to help us deliver food, you can contact our volunteer coordinator, Sara Winnick, at sara_winnick@brown.edu.
We are proud members of Food Recovery Network, a national network of campus-based food recovery organizations. www.foodrecoverynetwork.org
We are also thrilled to be affiliated with We Share Hope, a Providence-based 501(c)3 organization that recovers over 250,000 pounds of food annually. www.wesharehope.org
