Commitment to Food Justice & Sustainability
Efforts around food justice should not be individual endeavors, but rather action-based initiatives to heighten awareness on the community-impact level. I believe any idea can be turned into an action — all it takes is belief, drive and a few committed people.
Food Recovery Network
Student Alumni Advisory Board (SAAB) - “Executive Secretary”
2020 - 2022
Food recovery not only transformed my college experience, but has shaped my approach to life with a broadened sense of community connection.
I was brought up with a relationship to food revolving around intention and appreciation. Throughout high school, I volunteered as a cook with an organization that partnered with Trader Joe’s to receive “expired” products and produce that we would prepare into meals and deliver to local shelters. While this effort is a different kind of food recovery than the mission of FRN, this experience exposed me to the magnitude of food waste on the grocery store-consumer level.
As I transitioned into college, I was again perplexed by the magnitude of uneaten food in the dining hall. Working to uncover the mystery behind food waste at Scripps, I became a founding member of our school’s FRN chapter during my first year and then Chapter President for the next 3 years. Since graduating in 2020, I have served on FRN’s Student Alumni Advisory Board and am the acting “Executive Secretary.” SAAB has expanded on the foundational experience I learned as an FRN Chapter President, while also learning from and collaborating with passionate individuals across the country.
The FarmLink Project
Farms Team
Volunteer
2020 - 2021
The Mission: “We grow enough food to feed every person on Earth - yet, every year, 1/3 of that food goes to waste while millions of people go to bed hungry. The FarmLink Project is an innovative non-profit rescuing from the billions of pounds of fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste in order to feed people in need, reduce carbon emissions, and heal the planet.”
As a volunteer, I research farms as well as call farmers directly to facilitate deals. Collaborating with other team members, we then purchase surplus produce and transport the food to people in need.
My first deal with a farm allowed The FarmLink Project to donate 38,000 lbs of celery to a food bank in Santa Rosa, CA…
THAT’S A WHOLE LOT OF CELERY!
Scripps College
Sustainability Annual Report
My role:
Researched, designed, wrote and published Scripps College's first Sustainability Annual Report
Mentored by Scripps Sustainability Coordinator to create report as baseline for future editions