Food Recovery Network Expands With New Refrigerators

Loyola’s Food Recovery Network, received two new fridges and two shelves as part of its food recovery expansion on Sept. 24. This expansion aims to increase the program’s capacity to recover more food by enhancing storage space and expanding the volunteer’s program to support the network’s operations. The additional storage was funded by an external philanthropic organization, the Ferdie Foundation. 

FRN, established in 2016, combats food waste and hunger by recovering uneaten food from campus dining halls and cafes and redistributing it to local charities and food banks, according to its LUCommunity page. 

Scotty Monteith, a fourth-year environmental science major and co-president of FRN, said the fridges help by extending the storage time for recovered food. The extra time increases the network’s ability to distribute food to those in need.

Before having the fridges, Monteith said to prevent spoilage the food received from events or dining halls would have to be immediately distributed to food pantries or other community organizations. 

“It’s a game changer for sure,” Monteith said. “It’s been amazing to watch the FRN expand into something more serious.”

Maddie Mizon, a third-year psychology major and co-president of FRN, said the new appliances reduce the need for frequent van trips, as volunteers don’t have to make as many immediate drop-offs due to the increased storage space. She said it has helped lower their carbon footprint and save on gas.

FRN’s weekly routine involves collecting food from campus and the local community, and then logging, weighing and processing it for donation, according to Mizon. Twice a week, they deliver the food to their partner organizations, such as A Just Harvest, a non-profit in Chicago which provides free meals daily, who ensure it reaches those in need. 

In the past, the group occasionally borrowed fridge space from Loyola’s Urban Agriculture Department, which Mizon said was incredibly helpful. However, she said since the fridges were used frequently during the school year, the Urban Agriculture Department understandably needed them back frequently.

“The fridge is a game changer.” Mizon said. “It’s nice because it allows us to store food and make bigger twice-a-week donations.”

Monteith said the process for getting the fridges was lengthy and took nearly the entire summer. He said he credits Mizon for researching options and picking the fridge.

“We compared a lot of different brands,” Mizon said. “I did some Reddit consulting, so you know it’s getting serious.”

Mizon said it felt good to put so much work into choosing the fridges because she wants them to last for a long time. 

“We want to see them be used and be used in this expansion for years and years,” Mizon said. “These will do the job.”

Senior Sustainable Agriculture Manager Kevin Erikson said FRN recognized the need for refrigerators in the past spring, after acknowledging the unsustainability of same day deliveries resulting from the lack of on-site storage. Erikson said he had conversations over the summer with the School of Environmental Sustainability to secure enough storage space to house the refrigerator.

“On this campus, it’s very difficult to find and get new space,” Erikson said. “But I was able to find a storage room that I could find an area of that room to house the refrigerators and floor-to-ceiling shelving for dry food storage as well.”

Erikson said he was impressed with how Monteith and Mizon managed the fridge selection process. He said the most rewarding part of the project was working with students and supporting the SES and their goal of better food access in the local community.

“In our city, in Chicago, a lot of people are struggling,” Erickson said. “There’s a lot of data about kids and people who are struggling, who are considered food insecure, which can be anything from having no food to skipping meals and maybe having to make some purchases.”

A lot of FRN’s work is identifying the inequity in Chicago’s food system, according to Erikson.

Mizon said FRN is a community-focused organization, and it’s been nice to work with different community organizers. One such organizer is Julie Moller, a graduate student studying environmental advocacy and activism. Moller is the organizer of the Ferdie Foundation. 

The Ferdie Foundation funds the student internship program for students working with the SES. While Moller said she didn’t directly fund the refrigerators, the new fridges are part of the program. 

Moller said it was incredible to see the new refrigerators and watch FRN become more integrated into the community. She said it felt rewarding to contribute money and see it make a positive impact.

“These students are growing the foundation and having an effect,” Moller said. “It’s a great feeling to see as a funder.”

Moller said her past school and internship experiences inspired the Ferdie Foundation to donate. She said her admiration of FRN’s work and of the SES at Loyola made it easy to be a fan. 

“I want to make sure it continues to be successful,” Moller said. “There’s just so much need tackling food waste — all from growing to distributing.” 

Erikson said FRN’s latest goal is to distribute between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds of food this year. This includes food from all the dining halls on campus, Loyola catering and the Damen food court. 

Monteith said he recommends students interested in getting involved visit the Linktree on the Loyola Food Recovery Network’s Instagram page. He also said they’re planning a volunteering program and spring events for the upcoming semester, including Rambler Recovery Week.

Moller said FRN expansions give the students a great, all-encompassing idea of what the food system entails.

“If you can collect the day-to-day lasagna or cookies from a meeting and hand them to someone the next day, that’s recovery at its best,” Moller said.