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A little over a year ago, I ran across an article about Food Rescue on the internet. As I read the article, my curiosity and interest in their mission grew. I scoured the Food Rescue website and reached out to John Williamson directly. Not only did he answer the phone, but he personally took the time to explain the Food Rescue mission, history, as well as navigated me through the website. To say I was intrigued would be an understatement. Knowing that there are over 300,000 children living in poverty in Virginia alone, I was stunned to learn that this program had at that time only been implemented in two schools across the state. I knew right away that we needed to bring this program to Richmond and its surrounding counties.
As the director of Cobb Imprint, the charitable arm of Cobb Technologies, a non-profit that assists disadvantaged children in Richmond, Virginia; I witness daily the impact that hunger has on school-aged children. As adults, we are all well aware that having to concentrate and function on an empty stomach is extremely challenging. Our bodies ache, we are fatigued, and our concentration is poor. How in the world do we expect children to sit, learn, and behave accordingly for 6+ hours a day with no food in their bellies? I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenging task, and this was no exception. Excitedly, I reached out to the Superintendent of Powhatan County schools, a fellow board member for a local non-profit. After I outlined the format of Food Rescue and its mission, he said that he was intrigued and wanted to hear more. A time was scheduled to meet with his high school principal and ROTC program director. It was decided at the meeting that they would plan to trial the program initially at the high school starting in the fall of the 2018-2019 school year. The hope was that it would eventually be brought into the other four county schools. A few months ago, I met with my good friend and mentor Mark Smith. Mark is a pillar in our community who owns several Midas of Richmond stores. Mark is an outspoken advocate for several non-profits in our area that assist food insecure families, and works tirelessly to bring awareness and support. After meeting for coffee recently, he made mention of two local non-profits and asked if I’d be interested in taking tours of the facilities. It was during the tour of one of these organizations that I met the Executive Director of Goochland Cares, Sally Graham. Goochland Cares had recently built an impressive 20,000 square foot facility that includes a medical clinic, dental services, domestic abuse counseling and assistance, a thrift store, and a large food pantry. Immediately, I began sharing with her information about the Food Rescue program. I had mentioned that I had been trying to get in front of the Superintendent of Goochland County Public Schools, but to no avail. Sally stated that she knew him and would reach out directly. Shortly thereafter, Sally had scheduled a meeting at the Goochland County School Board with the superintendent and other members of his staff. I made sure to provide each attendee with a folder outlining Food Rescue’s mission, as well as all the documentation and tools that Food Rescue provides on their website outlining how the program incorporates lessons and skills in the following areas:
I felt it was important to reach out to John and let him know how ecstatic I was that Food Rescue would be growing in Virginia! I hope that this will inspire at least one person to reach out to a school in their community and keep the program going. We can make a difference and be the advocates for CHANGE. Keep in mind that we ALL benefit from the outcome. Sincerely, Andrea Starr Andrea Starr, Outreach Director Direct: 804.823.2891 | Service: 888.242.2622 [email protected] www.cobbimprint.org Food safety policies are good. We can be thankful and sleep better knowing our government takes measures to insure the safety of our food supply chain. But when policies overreach at the expense of feeding children and families in need, it's time for someone to question "Why?" In 2017 in Charlotte, NC a food recovery program run by our own former National Student Director Hanna Wondmagegn was shut down. Now, in Chatham County NC, teacher Joanna Hedrick’s Food Bus program has been shut down on everything except non-perishable items. Both Hanna and Joanna were asked to comply with a May 2016 memo from the N.C. Public Health Department that stated only “unserved food is allowed to be donated.” The number of food items allowed to be recovered within the restrictions of this memo is negligible. Many North Carolinians have contacted Food Rescue frustrated they can't get started with K-12 Food Rescue due to their state being out of step with USDA policies for school food donations. The local Retail Food Program Supervisor in Ms. Hedrick’s county explained the ultimate reason for the shutdown of her school’s Food Bus program: the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the NC Department of Public Instruction agree “that potentially hazardous foods may not be shared at sharing tables at schools. The NCDHHS NCDPI memo from May 2016 still stands. Only non-potentially hazardous foods may be shared at these sharing tables.” A serious revision of the NC Public Health Department’s memo regarding sharing tables at schools is long overdue. It is tragic for NC to be prohibiting the collection of perishables when the USDA and over 20 states have written guidelines for the safe recovery of unopened and unpeeled food items from the trays of students. These USDA guidelines insure that recovered “potentially hazardous foods” remain safe, allowing those foods be eaten instead of going into the garbage. Scott Coleman, NC Public Health Department’s communication manager, was quoted in a recent digital article by Xpress: “Ultimately, it’s up to the schools to decide what they feel comfortable donating,” However, Mr. Coleman’s statement falls flat since, clearly, local health department officials and school nutrition personnel are bound to uphold the May 2016 memo. The photos below of Siler City Elementary School’s Food Bus program while it was still operational demonstrate the type and amount of food that is now sadly forced to be thrown away. During the 10 months Ms. Hedrick’s program was running, 13,000 pounds of food were recovered. The West Chatham Food Pantry happily accepted the school’s recovered food. Food Pantry director Frieda Hackney misses the daily donations the school previously provided. All the food that once fed children and families in need is now feeding a landfill. In Indiana and so many other states, students are allowed to protect our environment from the harmful greenhouse gases that result from rotting food in landfills. They are allowed to make the choice to feed families in need instead of feeding landfills. Comprehensive changes to NC’s far-too-restrictive policies related to school food recovery are long overdue. Meanwhile, Johnston County Schools in North Carolina promote Share Tables openly with no resistance from local health departments or nutrition services with in the state. Check out the video on their school district's website.
https://vimeo.com/320348459 Hanna Wondmagegn is the inspired student leader fighting for change in NC. She is now a Sophomore at UNC, and here story and videos can be seen at the link below. http://www.foodrescue.net/blog/fr-natl-student-director-speaks-to-charlotte-school-board K-12 Food Rescue is proud to announce a curriculum for all K-12 student groups, but one that was designed by Carolyn Crafton Brooks, Functional Academic Educator at Westfield MS. Click on this image to acquire the curriculum for a great Project Based Learning activity for all grade levels.   After noticing there was an abundance of food being tossed away at the end of every lunch, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with my students in P.E. class about what we could do to combat the waste. After doing some research on different viable options we could take as a school community we came across the food rescue initiative. The idea of rescuing food to donate to the surrounding community made the most sense for our situation...and so it began! I found a very responsible grade 2 student named Kekoa Kim that truly encompassed the idea of giving, hard work, and kindness and made him our food rescue ambassador. I quickly put him to work and the program instantly became a student-led initiative. Kekoa is responsible for managing the program and oversees the collection process. Within his responsibilities he is learning about waste reduction and gaining valuable insight to sustainability here at the MAC. He has become a great advocate for the program.
-- Terry Mahjoory Physical Education Teacher Macomber Primary School Westport, MA |
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