Category: Board

Position Statement on House File 3

On By christinamcdonoughIn Board, education, hunger1 Comment

The Food Rescue Partnership Board encourages our lawmakers to continue supporting food access for Iowans.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s most important and effective tool at addressing hunger and food insecurity. In November 2022, SNAP provided $45.6 million benefits to 273,085 Iowans. In Scott County, 11.98% of residents benefited from SNAP assistance spending $1.98 average per meal benefit per individual.

Since 2013, the Food Rescue Partnership has prioritized the need to improve food availability by building a strong, well-connected food rescue network. Because hunger does not affect one type of person or one geographic location. Young or old. Rural or urban. Hunger affects 1 in 7 people throughout the United States and 229,500 Iowans. 

Supporting House File 3 threatens individual food choice, increases stress on already strained food pantries, and negatively impacts overall health of Iowans by increasing hunger and food insecurity. A research project in Davenport has identified foods needed by food pantry recipients and to make use of existing foods from local pantries. Many of the items identified by participants would be excluded by SNAP if these changes are implemented. Increasing choice reduces waste. Specifically, restrictions on choice within SNAP will limit participant access to the foods they and their families need. Limiting SNAP participants’ choices means they will have no access to supplemental items needed, such as ingredients to prepare meals at home. The harmful proposals in the bill include:

  • Restricting SNAP purchases to only foods on the WIC approved food item list.
  • Establishing an asset limit for SNAP.
  • Performing regular eligibility verification checks for SNAP and Medicaid.
  • Requiring participation in the SNAP Employment & Training program.
  • Requiring custodial parents to cooperate with the child support recovery unit.

Therefore, the Food Rescue Partnership Board does not support any efforts to restrict food purchases or establish an asset limit for SNAP. The Food Rescue Partnership supports efforts to improve food access and SNAP incentives to support Iowans making healthy choices such as Double Up Food Bucks.

To learn more about how you can protect SNAP, please visit the Iowa Hunger Coalition website.

Sincerely,

2022 Year in Review

On By foodrescueqcIn Board, community outreach, education, events, food rescue, food waste, hunger, Member in Food Rescue, partners, volunteerLeave a comment

Dear Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders and Friends,

I would like to reflect on the last year and what is to come for the Food Rescue Partnership. 

In 2022, stakeholders learned about ‘Rural Food Deserts across the State of Iowa’ from Jordon Burrows, reconvened for our first 100% in-person meeting for a fiscal year 2023 planning session, and launched a ‘Food rescue at Home’ social media campaign.

The Food Rescue Partnership hosted its fourth Food Rescue Workshop at St. Ambrose University! This was an exciting return to our in-person event and proved to be a successful collaboration with St. Ambrose University as many of their students attended. More than 40 attendees made new connections and learned how food waste and reduction trends changed during the COVID pandemic, a local model for personalized healthy food pantry, and how to compost at home.

For the third year in a row, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Food Rescue Partnership earned a Food Recovery Challenge Award! The Food Rescue Partnership is one of 18 innovative businesses and organizations that are being recognized by the U.S. EPA at a national level for work completed in 2020 and 2021. This is the first time our Quad Cities’ coalition earned national recognition!

To date, the Food Rescue Partnership has diverted more than 53,963 pounds of food from the landfill by making connections to feed hungry people, feed animals, and/or compost. 

Ringing in 2023, I look forward to expanding our food waste reduction and recovery messaging to at home strategies and learning more about various compost methods.

The Food Rescue Partnership is driven by caring and motivated stakeholders and community partners.  Most importantly, the Food Rescue Partnership is a team of great people.  On behalf of myself and the Food Rescue Partnership Board, thank you.

Happy New Year,

Christina McDonough, Board Chair

2020 Year in Review

On By christinamcdonoughIn BoardLeave a comment

Dear Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders and Friends,

Thank you for your tremendous commitment through this unprecedented year.  We found ourselves adapting to a global pandemic, national injustice crisis, and Midwest derecho on professional and personal levels we did not anticipate when we rang in the New Year. 

In 2020, we transformed the biennial Food Rescue Workshop to a 100% live webinar series with recordings available for replay.  The webinar series explained why wasting food is such a problem and how health inequity and COVID-19 changed the landscape of food insecurity.  The concluding webinar in the series launched a new feature to the FRP biennial event; the announcement of the Quad Cities first-ever Food Rescue Warrior and Member of the Year. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Food Rescue Partnership earned the 2019 Food Recovery Challenge Regional Award, our second year receiving regional recognition!  The recognition is possible because of our strongest asset, Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders and Community Partners.  Through all of the uncertainty in 2020, our partnerships increased food rescue and used resourcefulness and innovation to ensure the best use of resources.  We prioritized safety for our donors, recipients, and volunteers during the entire food rescue process more so than ever before.

To date, the Food Rescue Partnership has diverted more than 53,588 pounds of food from the landfill by making connections to feed hungry people, feed animals, and/or compost. 

Ringing in 2021, I look forward to continuing to modify and improve our food rescue education and outreach efforts.  None of which would be possible without your dedication to make the Quad Cities a community dedicated to eliminating food waste.  Your hard work and collaboration is making a direct impact to keep food as a valuable resource.  On behalf of myself and the Food Rescue Partnership Board, thank you.

Happy New Year,

Christina McDonough, Board Chair


Want a PDF of this letter? Click here.

A Letter from the FRP Board

On By Lea HenselIn Board, food rescueLeave a comment

FRP Stakeholders:

We have been receiving and fielding questions about COVID-19 and food donation. Please know there is no correlation between food and COVID-19, other than the risk of increased food waste because of canceled events and business closures. Food donations are still being accepted by non-profit hunger-relief agencies.

Just yesterday, Christina coordinated freshly prepared corned beef brisket, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots to Café on Vine. Yolanda rescued Happy Joe’s Pizza from the West Locust Street location.

The FRP Board added a food donation message to the homepage and Lea continues to keep our Facebook page updated. We would also like to highlight community efforts that have begun taking place without direct Food Rescue Partnership efforts, and were inspired by pure compassion and willingness to adapt to follow COVID-19 recommendations:

  1. Chef Chris Carton established a “QC Safe Community Kitchen Operation” under the RiverCenter’s food license to prepare and distribute perishable food that would have been otherwise wasted. You can read about his efforts on our Facebook post here.
  2. River Bend Foodbank, The Salvation Army, Red Cross, and Scott County Emergency Management are collaborating to accept and distribute shelf-stable food.

This is an important time to provide food rescue education and awareness.

What You Can Do

  • Please reach out to your favorite food establishments and help facilitate food donations. If possible, track of your efforts and report back to the FRP board so we can document our efforts in the work plan.
  • Like, comment, and share FRP Facebook and food rescue messages. We’re wanting to get the word out that food donations can still happen, especially with all the perishable foods in danger of being thrown away at closed businesses.
  • Let us know if there are other community efforts, food rescue, or donations we can help share – we want to recognize that these efforts ARE happening in the Quad Cities to help get MORE of them to happen.

Together, we can make a direct impact in the Quad Cities by keeping food as a valuable resource.

Sincerely,

Your FRP Board – Christina McDonough, Pete Vogel, Lea Hensel, and Larry Linnenbrink

2019 Year in Review and 2020 Outlook

On By Lea HenselIn BoardLeave a comment

Dear Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders and Friends,

As we ring in the New Year and a new decade, I would like to reflect on the last year and what is to come for the Food Rescue Partnership.

In 2019, we focused on our Food Rescue Recognition Program. We collaborated with the Iowa Waste Reduction Center to create table tents that recognize our Members of Food Rescue and provide tips to reduce food waste at home. You can see these on the tables at some of our Member locations. The recognition program also added Garden Ministry of Asbury United Methodist Church as a Member of Food Rescue bringing us to 17 local establishments that are participating in food rescue efforts.

I am confident Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders and Community Partners will continue to be our strongest asset. We have 10 organizations with stakeholders actively involved from both sides of the river ranging from health departments, to non-profits, universities, private companies, and community members, and 11 community partners ranging from local, to statewide, to regional. All our outreach activities and materials have been provided through volunteerism, in-kind donations, and grants from your hard work.

To date, the Food Rescue Partnership has diverted more than 48,455 pounds of food from the landfill by making connections to feed hungry people, feed animals, and/or compost.

This year, I look forward to planning and hosting an inaugural trivia night and our third Food Rescue Workshop while continuing to maintain our food rescue outreach and education. None of which would be possible without your dedication to make the Quad Cities a community dedicated to eliminating food waste. Your hard work is making a direct impact to keep food as a valuable resource. On behalf of myself and the Food Rescue Partnership Board, thank you.

Happy New Year,
McDonough_Signature
Christina McDonough, Board Chair

 

Need to download a PDF of this letter? Click here.

Food Rescue Partnership Thank You and 2018 Year in Review Letter

On By Lea HenselIn Board, food rescue, Member in Food RescueLeave a comment

In case you missed it – Food Rescue Partnership Board Chair shared the following with stakeholders, supporters, and friends to close out 2018.

Dear Food Rescue Partnership Stakeholders, Supporters, and Friends,

As 2018 draws to a close and we find ourselves in the holiday season, I want to express my deepest appreciation for all the work and support you have provided the Food Rescue Partnership this year. As we know from all our hard work this past year, waste and hunger know no season, but a community coalition dedicated to eradicating both can accomplish much. May your holiday season be filled with peace and joy, and may the New Year find you all safe, happy, and healthy.

As a result of the hard work and dedication of you all, 2018 has been another excellent year for food rescue here in the Quad Cities with many important landmarks reached. To attempt to list everything here would be to guarantee that some wonderful accomplishments are missed, but here are just some of the 2018 Food Rescue Partnership highlights:

  • Official receipt of the EPA Region 7 Food Rescue Challenge Award at the 2018 Midwest Food Recovery Summit
  • Presentation of a very successful and well-received Food Rescue Workshop for the community in October
  • Selection by Fresh Films to have a free 3-minute video and 30-second PSA produced as part of their Spring Break program. The resulting video produced by local teens was wonderful; debuted at a special reception at Augustana on September 26th; and the PSA began being shown on KWQC-TV6 soon after.
  • A stakeholder tour of the anaerobic digestion operation at AgriReNew at Sievers Family Farms in Stockton, IA
  • Election of Board Officers to new or changed Board positions
  • Highlights of our major speaking, community engagement, appearance, and media interview opportunities:
    • Midwest Food Recovery Summit
    • KWQC-TV6 Paula Sands Live
    • WHBF-TV4 Living Local
    • WQAD-TV8
    • Quad City Times
    • John Deere Health Fair
    • Farmer’s Market Vendors
    • Illinois Food Scrap Coalition
    • Quad Cities Lodging Assoc.
  • Calendar 2018 Members of Food Rescue

And all throughout 2018, the Food Rescue Partnership has facilitated and sometimes directly conducted the rescue and donation of food to hunger-relief agencies in the community.

These milestones directly reflect the work of our committed stakeholders, and FRP’s growing recognition and acceptance in the Quad Cities community. As we look forward to 2019, our mission to promote rescuing food for its best possible use plans to focus on maintaining existing partnerships while forming new ones, and providing ongoing food
rescue education and awareness to our community. Particularly exciting new opportunities to continue and expand our reach include:

  • Obtaining official 501(c)(3) non-profit status
  • Partnering with River Bend Food Bank to pilot and promote the Feeding America MealConnect Mobile App

Thank you all again for all you do. The Quad Cities is a better, stronger community for your efforts and support.

Best regards,
Pete Vogel
Food Rescue Partnership Board Chair

A Note from the FRP Chair

On By Lea HenselIn Board1 Comment

18-19_FRPBoard
2018-2019 Food Rescue Partnership Board. From left to right: Pete Vogel, Larry Linnenbrink, Christina McDonough, Kristin Bogdonas.

The Food Rescue Partnership begins the fiscal year 2019 with a newly-elected Board that includes some familiar faces and some new faces.

Newly elected in their positions are Kristin Bogdonas – Secretary, and Larry Linnenbrink – Treasurer. Meanwhile, former Secretary Christina McDonough will now assume the Vice-Chair duties while Pete Vogel remains Chair.

Kristin and Larry are well qualified to assume their new duties. We are confident the skills they have demonstrated as stakeholders will serve them well in these new Board positions. Christina has demonstrated a level of commitment and quality since the very beginning of the FRP, which came to be in large part due to her efforts as the Scott County Health Department’s Community Transformation Consultant. There is no doubt she will continue and further this legacy as Vice-Chair.

Our outgoing Board members did a fantastic job and the FRP is stronger as a result of their efforts and leadership. We thank our outgoing Vice-Chair Liz Hogan Wells for all the fine work, energy, and creativity she poured into the FRP, and wish her all the best as she pursues new opportunities in Florida. Similarly, we thank outgoing Treasurer Mike Miller for his foundational work with the FRP in providing valuable insight and leadership as well as positioning River Bend Foodbank to serve as our fiscal agent. Mike will continue as a valued stakeholder and remains a clear voice for ending hunger in our community. The Food Rescue Partnership enters this new term stronger and more vital than ever.

– Pete Vogel, Food Rescue Partnership Chair