Tag: community outreach

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

Sneak Peek: How Donation Can Work Panel at the Food Rescue Workshop

On By Lea HenselIn events, food rescueLeave a comment

Do you work at or manage a food establishment or retail food store? Do you want to donate food instead of throwing it away but don’t know where to start? Not sure where to take the food or what is needed? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you will not want to miss the second panel at the October 20 Food Rescue Workshop.

The Food Rescue Partnership has brought together five individuals from both sides of the donation spectrum. Lindsey Adams (Outback Steakhouse) and Melissa Freidhof-Rodgers (Ross’ Restaurant) will be sharing information from the donation side. Both managers of their respective restaurants, Adams and Freidhof-Rodgers will share information about how to get started, developing policies and procedures and address usual assumptions, such as concerns about liability in donating food that could make someone sick. (Hint: There’s no need for concern. We’ll cover that at the workshop.)

On the recipient agency side, the Food Rescue Partnership is welcoming Mary Fahrion (Kings Harvest), Dan Huber (Sacred Heart Cathedral) and Lauri Jones (Café on Vine). They will highlight information about establishing relationships, what food safety rules need to be met, and how the tax donation works.

And remember, this is just a sneak peek into what will be covered through this panel. These panelists will have much more to share, and a Q&A section will take place for any unanswered questions.

This panel, as well as the networking opportunities that will take place throughout the day, are great opportunities to begin a relationship with a recipient agency and get started on donating food.