• Social Innovation Fellowship
Ben
Chesler

Award Year 

2012
Food Recovery Network at Brown

The Food Recovery Network @ Brown (FRN@Brown) is a new student-run social venture that works on campus and in the Providence community (through a partnership with We Share Hope) to get ready-to-eat food to the people who need it most.  We are a network of student groups and individuals at Brown University, volunteering to recover the surplus food from the dining halls and special events and donate it to hungry men, women, and children in the Providence area.   We divert food before it ends up in the trash, and make sure it gets to the people who need it.  The Starr Fellowship is a great opportunity for us to expand our operations on campus as well as to work with a local Food Recovery organization, We Share Hope, to improve the sustainability of food recovery in Providence.  More Food for People, Less for Trash Cans!

www.foodrecoverynetwork.org

Personal Statement 

I got involved with food recovery after diving in one too many dumpsters, and after having seen too much good food get thrown out.  As a culture, we have begun to reduce our impact on the environment through recycling, and composting, yet we have missed one of the biggest waste streams, food.  Every year, over 60 billions pounds of food are wasted, while at the same time, tens of millions of Americans go hungry.  I try and do my part to reduce my personal food waste, but we will not be able to make a big dent in hunger until we completely change the system - we need to make it the expectation that businesses recover their food.  Sustainable living is going to become the norm, and a world without food waste needs to be a part of that future.