Presentation on sustainable food recovery programs: the intersection of sustainability, social mission, innovation, and partnerships

1. Sustainable Food Recovery Programs:
Redirecting Excess Food to the Needy
Opportunities for Creative Partnerships
Steven M. Finn
Managing Director, ResponsEcology
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2. Presentation for:
West Virginia University
College of Business and Economics
Sustainable Food Recovery Programs:
Redirecting Excess Food to the Needy
Opportunities for Creative Partnerships
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3. An initial thought…
“We have tens of thousands of abandoned
homes without people and tens of thousands of
abandoned people without homes.”
Paul Hawken, 2009 Commencement Address, University
of Portland
Sounds crazy? Now think about Food…
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4. A Parallel to Food
An estimated 50% of food lost from field to fork
(Lundqvist, SIWI Policy Brief, 2008)
The UN estimates that one third of all food produced annually –
1.3 billion tons – is lost or wasted throughout the food supply
chain
(Gustavson, et al., www.fao.org , 2011)
Worldwide, 925 million hungry people in 2010
(www.worldhunger.org)
And…1 in 6 Americans are food insecure
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5. Food Waste in Context
• 1.3 billion tons wasted annually globally
• Empire State building wt: 365,000 tons
• Translation?
• In the United States:
• Daily food waste would fill the Rose Bowl
(Bloom, American Wasteland, 2010)
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6. Hunger Statistics for the US in 2009
• 43.6 million people (14.3%) were in poverty
• 8.8 million families were in poverty
• 15.5 million children under age 18 were in poverty
• 50.2 million Americans were in food insecure households
• The number of food insecure seniors is expected to
increase by 50% by 2025…
Yet Americans discard over 100 billion pounds of food per
year – roughly one pound per person per day
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7. Causes of Food Waste - Farm to Table:
• Imperfect weather
• Pests
• Damage from machinery
• Blemishes/irregular sizes
• Improper handling
• Improper temperature control
• Compliance with regulations (sell-by dates)
• Conversion of raw food into other products
• Overstocking/incorrect stock rotations
• Package and label damage
• Excessive portions
• Over-preparation and expanded menu choices
• Cooking losses and spillage
(Kantor, et al., 1997, www.ers.usda.gov)
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8. The Challenge
• We have excess food which goes to waste ( a
social and environmental problem), and…
• We have a great need for the nutrients in that
wasted food (“quality” calories to support a
healthy lifestyle)
We can’t afford the waste….innovative solutions
are needed
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9. The Role of Innovation and Creativity
• We need programs to reduce food waste by
capturing the excess and efficiently redirecting
it to the needy, and they must be lasting
• That’s where innovation and creativity come
into play…
– Connect the dots
– Create partnerships
– Solve logistical challenges
– Success can breed success
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10. Meaningful Stories for Me
• Early morning experience in supermarket
– Need for framework
• Experience in busy farm stand
– Need for tangible projects
• Experience with farmers
– Opportunities for innovation
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11. My Efforts in our Region
• Volunteered to help a food bank
• Surveyed farmers in tri-county area
• Reviewed logistical issues for gleaning and
donation programs
• Contacted farmers; built relationships
• Developed pilot projects
• Developed recommendations for charitable
food organizations
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12. Survey Results
• 40% of respondents stated they periodically have excess
amounts of nutritious produce (not just one-time)
• That excess occurs throughout the growing season
• 27% of respondents stated they would consider
donating/selling their excess to a food bank
• 33% of respondents would allow the food bank to arrange a
gleaning crew if no liability to them
• 60% of respondents have donated to food banks and pantries
in the past
• 33% of respondents have greenhouse operations (i.e.
potential for year-round donations)
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13. Logistical issues/potential barriers
• Farmers are busy
• You get one shot
• Establish/nurture relationship
• Accommodate the farmer’s schedule
• Communicate the win/win (tax deductions, good
press, social mission, etc.)
• Adhere to all commitments; reliability is key
• Timeliness is critical
• Overcome liability concerns
• Strong organizational efforts needed
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14. A Vertically Integrated Approach
• Kingsbury Farm (VT) – Vermont Food Bank - a
more innovative approach
• 22 acre farm – partnership
• VTFB leases to farm couple
• Farmers commit to producing 30,000 lbs. of
fresh produce for the VTFB’s network
• Farmers have access to land, buildings,
equipment; keep all revenue from sales of
produce beyond the 30,000 lb. commitment
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15. Lessons from Kingsbury Farm
• Incentive to produce efficiently
• Social mission
• Manage land in a sustainable way (for future
farmers)
• Met with food pantries, produce crops which
are:
– Highly desired by constituents
– High in nutrition content
– Long-lasting
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16. More lessons from Kingsbury Farm
• Little food waste; culled crops used
• Farmers communicate with food shelves;
produce and harvest according to what they
can handle (plan production for efficiency)
• Train interns
• Triple bottom line in action
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17. 2011 in Bucks County, PA
• Partnerships between food banks, farmers,
and Delaware Valley College:
• 40,000 lbs. of excess produce collected from
farmers
• Proposal to link DVC with charitable food
organizations (vertical integration) – results in
partnership and charitable garden project to
start
• Relationships, Success, and Momentum
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18. Action Plans
• What should charitable food organizations,
and community leaders, do?
• What is the opportunity for partnerships?
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19. Identify the Barriers to Donation Partnerships
• Fear of liability (food; and on property)
• Lack of storage space
• Narrow time window (perishability)
• Weather and market conditions
• Lack of time to contact charitable food orgs
• Lack of faith in pick-up organization
• Discarding excess food seen as “easier”
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20. Overcoming the barriers
Charitable food organizations must…
1. Operationally:
– Be reliable
– Be timely
– Be consistent
– Eliminate liability concerns
2. Communicate the benefits to farmers of a
partnership
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21. Benefits of Donation Partnerships To
Farmers and Growers
• Satisfaction – doing the right thing
• Effectively utilizing excess versus waste
• Minimizing disposal costs of excess
• Tax deductions
• Good citizenship
• Good press (ex. website of food organization)
• Opportunity to learn (plant what you might
not otherwise plant)
• Source: portions from firstfoodbank.org
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22. Farmers: Challenge Your Partner to:
• Be reliable and timely
• Be consistent
• Demonstrate organizational skill
• Utilize the excess food effectively
• Provide appropriate receipts
• Document your contributions on their website
• Expand your market
• Be Creative – Take Pride in the Results!
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23. Community Members
• Get Creative
• Innovate
• Look to have an impact
– Consider the Lemon Lady (CA)
http://thelemonlady.blogspot.com/
– 3 years
– 5,000 hours
– Over 300 tons of produce collected
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24. Linking Farmers, Community, and Food
Organizations
• Establish relationships; help farmers
• Website to promote linkage
• Build on successful pilots
• Increase Partnerships
• Eliminate redundancy – promote local
• Recognize the power of the individual
• Recognition and Reward
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25. A Challenge to Graduates
Environmentalist Paul Hawken:
You will have to “figure out what it means to be
a human being on earth at a time when every
living system is declining, and the rate of decline
is accelerating.”
Hawken, 2009 Commencement Address
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26. Thank You!
• Interested in changing to adopt sustainability
principles in your organization? Contact
Steven M. Finn at info@responsecology.com
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