A Greener World One Recovered Meal at a Time

In 2011, a group of students at the University of Maryland, College Park were shocked to learn just how much food was being thrown away by their campus dining halls. Inspired to make a difference in their community, these students began recovering the excess food and donating it to hunger-fighting nonprofits in their area under the name “Food Recovery Network.” Since 2011, Food Recovery Network (FRN) has swept the nation, supporting over 230 chapters across 46 states, and recovering over 4 million pounds of food in total. FRN has since become the largest student-led movement against hunger. The heart of FRN is the social pillar of sustainability - redistributing wealth through food distribution.

In 2014, FRN was brought to Florida State University and found a home at FSU Sustainable Campus. In six years, FRN at FSU has recovered over 69,000 pounds of food, supporting both on-campus and off-campus organizations. FRN at FSU provides volunteer  and Serv-Script hours to students who participate in recoveries from various on-campus locations, such as dining halls, campus-wide events, and smaller RSO events. But how does recovering excess food at FSU make our campus more sustainable? In order to answer this question, it’s helpful to review a couple frameworks for sustainability. 

Food Recovery Network at FSU’s Spring 2020 Volunteer All Call. Note: this photo was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic & mask requirements.

Traditionally, sustainability is talked about in reference to a three pillars model- social, economic, and environmental sustainability. However, the recent introduction of the doughnut model of sustainability provides a more extensive framework to discuss FRN’s impact on sustainability. The doughnut model provides a clear example of how all aspects of sustainability are tied together, which is sometimes hard to see or understand when talking about the pillars of sustainability. In addition to depicting the different principles required for a sustainable society, the doughnut model shows the shortfalls and overshoots, with the ideal sustainability proportion comprising the doughnut ring.

Doughnut model of economic sustainability example from Kate Raworth.

The most obvious connection between FRN and sustainability is it’s environmental impact. When excess food is redistributed, food is kept out of the landfill and the energy and water resources put into producing the food are not wasted. Food is the largest inhabitant of American landfills, making up 22% of municipal solid waste. In the landfill, wasted food produces greenhouse gases, including methane gas. Although talked about less than carbon dioxide, methane gas is 28 times more potent on a 100-year time scale, and 80 times more potent on a 20 year time scale. By redistributing excess food, FRN diverts methane gas production from the landfills and provides much needed food to those in need.

In addition, food takes a significant amount of resources to produce. On a global scale, agriculture accounts for 92% of the water footprint. In the United States, meat alone accounts for 30% of agricultural water usage. Beef requires the highest quantity of water, requiring 1,847 gallons of water per pound. However, water is not the only resource- land resource is also a significant factor when determining the sustainability of food production. Land use can also harm the environment when there is an overproduction of food. The energy and space required to grow excess food. Agriculture can contribute to water pollution when nitrates and fertilizer are used. In addition, the agriculture industry uses about 52% of the land in the US and if the population continues to increase, more land will be required, despite 30-40% of the food supply being wasted today.  

Protein in particular is very difficult for food banks to stock due to its shelf life. Protein is an essential part of a balanced diet, yet food banks typically don’t have enough stocked to support their demand. FRN is fortunate enough to help ensure that valuable proteins are able to feed those in need, rather than end up in a landfill. When considering the amount of resources that goes into food production, it is even more important that food is being eaten so that these resources were not used in vain. 

FRN’s mission to provide food to those in need is another example of it’s connection to sustainability. The United Nation’s second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is “no hunger.” The SDGs work as building blocks for peace and prosperity across the world. Food is one of the most basic human needs, yet 37 million Americans face hunger. Without proper nutrition, people are more likely to face being fatigued, have difficulty concentrating  and more serious health concerns like depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. But why are people going hungry? Lack of proper nutrition results from a multitude of things. One of the largest reasons is due to an overall lack of resources, both financially and locationally.

Many people are unable to access proper food due to their location relative to grocery stores. Areas where grocery stores are few and far between are referred to as food deserts. Specifically, food deserts are locations where residents are outside of a convenient distance to affordable and healthy food options. Transportation options also play a large role in creating food deserts as 2.3 million people live more than one mile from a grocery store, but do not own a car. This makes it especially difficult for people in rural areas to make grocery shopping trips to access fresh, nutritious food. Typically, the food available in food deserts are low in nutritional value, highly processed, and high in fat, sugar, and salt.

Lack of proper nutrition plays into a vicious cycle with another aspect of sustainability, income and work, which falls under the category of social sustainability. Based on a study conducted by Adam Drewnoski of the University of Washington, a 2,000 calorie diet consisting of junk food is over 10 times less expensive than a diet consisting of nutrient dense foods. Low-income individuals tend to have money constraints when purchasing foods, and sometimes the low-cost junk food is the only financial option. Lack of proper nutrients in turn leads to difficulty concentrating and low productivity levels. This can make it difficult to perform well at work or maintain a job, thus limiting income potential and leading back to the inability to afford proper nutrition.

This is where Food Recovery Network comes in. FRN donates recovered food to people who do not have adequate access to proper nutrition for a variety of reasons, but primarily due to financial barriers. The food FRN provides helps to bridge the gap between the resources available (excess food) to those suffering from hunger. By keeping perfectly nutritious food out of the landfill and donating it to hunger fighting organizations in the community, more people have access to the tools for success, providing social sustainability within the community. Plus, keeping that excess food out of the landfill supports environmental efforts of greenhouse gas reduction.

FRN at FSU supports food insecure individuals both on campus and in the community. In the broader community, FRN donates to CARE Tallahassee and The Kearney Center, organizations that support recently incarcerated men and those requiring emergency housing, respectively. Both of these organizations provide the necessary resources to help individuals return to a more normal life. At FSU, FRN supports the Food For Thought Pantry and the Unconquered Scholars Program. These FSU organizations help support food insecure students to promote academic success. Overall, the student volunteers of the Food Recovery Network at FSU and chapters across America unite to not only promote sustainability, but to support their community to ensure overall success and wellbeing of as many people as possible.

Food Recovery Network members from other universities unite against food waste and hunger.