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My name is Riya Chadha and I go to the University of Chicago Laboratory High Schools in Illinois. Every Tuesday me and a group of cafeteria members pack extra food that would otherwise be thrown away, such as cold sandwiches, salads, fruits, pastries, beverages, etc. into crates. Around 25 food items can fit into a crate, and depending on the week, we donate 6-9 crates of food. The food goes to the Door of Hope shelter, a shelter for men in transition, and a Reverand picks up the food and brings it over every week. The food used to go to the shelter You Can Make It, but it unfortunately closed down. Seeing how enthusiastic people were about the Surplus Project and talking to the Reverand and other people who we are giving food to has been incredibly rewarding. I feel that I have made some amazing connections with people, and I like to think that I helped bridge the gap between food waste and food insecurity. I got this idea after seeing this operation at Rush Oak Park Hospital and Palos Community Hospital, and I felt that it would be perfect to bring to my school since we live in Hyde Park, which is a high need area. It took work to pitch this project to several administrators, such as Mrs. Campos, the Dean of Students, and Collen Coyle, the Director of Family Life, and get them on board, however, I was eventually met with a lot of enthusiasm. These people helped me carry this project through to the end, and Mrs. Coyle ended up becoming the sponsor for my club. The club is based around this project, and it is very discussion-based, but we also have hosted fundraisers and lunch packagings. While researching different topics of discussion for this club, I have learned a lot about food insecurity and situational poverty, and I have become very interested in preventing food waste. I now hope to expand this project, and I would love to bring it to the University of Chicago cafeterias since our high school is within the campus. |
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