Much to the chagrin of Lee Grodin ’05, each day leftover food from Wesleyan dining areas is wasted. Unlike many other students, though, Grodin decided to do something about it. With Bay Love ’05, she formed the Food Recovery Coalition (FoRC) in an effort to rescue this wasted food.
“I grew up in New York where they have programs like Second Harvest where restaurants give leftover food to shelters,” Grodin said. “I worked at Pi Café and saw all of the leftovers and thought that it would be more useful to give to shelters in Middletown.”
Each day, the food is taken from Pi Café at 9 p.m. and the Campus Center at 8 p.m. respectively, and transported to Eddy Center, a homeless shelter which provides transitional housing. It helps temporary residents find employment and continue their education, according to Wes’ Community Service and Volunteerism website.
While this project is supported by the WSA, it did not receive such support from the administration in dining services. “We tried contacting (Senior Food Service Director) Tim Reiss and received no response and later little support,” Grodin said. “It wasn’t until we got many people involved and contacted other administrators that he considered the plan.”
The administration cited concerns about liability, though projects like this one are protected by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, signed by former President Clinton. Members of FoRC say that they want to expand their project to include other eating areas on campus.
“We have enough food and not enough distribution,” Grodin said.
The support that they did receive came also from Cathy Crimmins, director of Community Service and Volunteerism, who aided them in their quest to begin this project. FoRC now consists of approximately 20 students who transport the food themselves.
“It’s sometimes difficult to get students to commit to the schedule, but we definitely try to keep our commitment to the shelter and provide food every day if possible,” Grodin said.
The response students get from the shelter is “polite and receptive,” Grodin said. “The food is usually distributed immediately and those there are very grateful.”
Employees at the shelter said they are also pleased.
“I remember one time walking in and seeing so much food,” said Jerry Dillenbeck, Eddy Shelter Coordinator. “The guests felt as though they were at a banquet because it was better food than what they usually receive. I found that it was sent from Wesleyan, and see that it is surprising and remarkable for the guests. Everyone was talking about it.”
Recently the group has also been receiving leftover food from Vespers.
“Every week I go to Vespers and I always feel guilty about how much food is thrown away,” said Corey Gittus ’05. “When I heard from Lee about FoRC my first reaction was, ‘I know the perfect place to get extra food…Vespers.’ Lo and behold, I became in charge of the Vespers portion of FoRC.”
Other organizations such as Connecticut Food Bank do similar projects statewide, but no such programs were available in Middletown. Students felt it was their responsibility to initiate one.
Grodin thanks those Aramark food service workers who are eager to help in the project and willing to wrap food. She gave a special thank you to WSA who provided funds (used to buy gloves and wrap food) and coolers for the project.
Grodin emphasized the basic nature of the plan.
“It’s all about taking advantage of your resources, and good to know that when something is wrong you are able to fix it,” she said.
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