412 Food Rescue Advancement and Marketing Manager Katie Hedderman and Vice President of Advancement Gil Zamora speak to Chautauquans about their mission and goals as an organization during an ice cream social Monday at the Athenaeum Hotel.
JENNA OUTCALT
Staff Writer
According to Alyssa Cholodofsky, chief executive officer of 412 Food Rescue, food waste is about more than just food. It touches issues such as climate change, public health, agriculture and local economies. That’s why, she said, dialogues for awareness and solutions are important.
Leaders from the Pittsburgh nonprofit 412 Food Rescue will join experts in food waste reduction at 12:30 p.m. today in Bestor Plaza to discuss efforts to tackle food insecurity.
The panel will consist of Brad Fetchin, the vice president of product for 412 Food Rescue; Stanley Lim, an associate professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University; and Dan Magrish, the senior director of community giving, partnerships and sustainability at supermarket chain Giant Eagle, with Cholodofsky moderating the discussion.
“As the moderator, one of the biggest ideas I hope to explore with the panelists and audience is that food waste and food insecurity are often treated as separate problems, when in reality, they’re symptoms of the same broken system,” Cholodofsky said.
Lim said food waste is substantially shaped by the design of supply chains and markets. He explained that surplus is often predictable and rescuing it should be treated as “civic
infrastructure.”
“Every organization sees only one part of the food system. Bringing researchers, retailers, technology providers, nonprofits, funders and community members together makes the critical handoffs — and the gaps between them — more visible,” he said.
Magrish said a better food surplus system creates a positive domino effect in communities.
“When children have access to healthy food, they’re better positioned to learn, grow and succeed. When families have greater food security, communities are stronger,” he said.
Fetchin emphasized that food waste is a solvable issue, and the solution lies in better coordination and reframing “food waste” as valuable surplus.
“There is enough surplus food in this country to end hunger many times over,” he said. “The infrastructure to move it from where it is to where it’s needed, in the narrow window before it spoils, is the space that needs more commitment.”
According to Cholodofsky, food waste and insecurity are complex issues that no single organization or agency can solve.
“One of the greatest challenges is that our food system wasn’t designed to recover surplus food. It was designed for efficiency in production and distribution, not for capturing food that falls outside traditional markets,” she said.
Lim explained that fragmentation is a major issue in food waste.
“A business may have surplus, an organization may have demand and a volunteer may have a vehicle, but not necessarily at the same time, with the right information, refrigeration, receiving hours or food-safety capacity,” he said. “Because food is perishable, even modest coordination delays can destroy its value.”
Fetchin said helping local organizations could improve coordination.
“From communities, I want to see a commitment to equip and empower local organizations. Even small food rescues should have access to the same caliber of tools as organizations with substantial software budgets,” he said. “Fighting food waste shouldn’t depend on how much technology a nonprofit can afford.”
According to Fetchin, corporations also have a part to play in creating a better food surplus system.
“Corporations have shown a lot of interest in keeping their surplus out of the waste stream, which is fantastic, but I’d love to see them shift their priorities from monetizing that surplus in quick-turn marketplaces to instead approaching it as an uplifting, circular-economy opportunity to end food insecurity in the neighborhoods they serve,” he said.
Cholodofsky also emphasized that food recovery should be more of a standard practice for businesses instead of “an occasional act of generosity.”
“[Companies] are increasingly recognizing that reducing waste is good for their communities, their employees and their bottom line,” she said.
Cholodofsky explained that food waste solutions require people from all backgrounds with different skills and expertise, and dialogues like today’s panel can inspire people to action.
“It’s easy to become discouraged by statistics about food waste or food insecurity, but I’ve spent the last several years watching communities come together to solve problems that once seemed impossible,” she said. “Volunteers, businesses, nonprofits, governments and neighbors are proving every day that when we build the right connections, remarkable things happen.”
Magrish said awareness and conversations help people consider the bigger picture when it comes to food waste.
“Food waste is often discussed as an environmental issue. Food insecurity is often discussed as a social issue,” he said. “In reality, they’re connected through the same food system.”
Fetchin said conversations helped people realize that food waste has real solutions and is not just a “sad or unfortunate” reality. He used Chautauqua as an example, as the surplus from events throughout the week will be rescued and put to use.
“That’s not a hypothetical,” he said. “It’s a real solution being put in motion, right here in your community.”
