Wall Fellows initiative diverts food waste to local charities
A group of Wall Fellows students have started a Food Recovery Network chapter at Coastal Carolina University. The Food Recovery Network is a collegiate organization that works to feed those in need by collecting and donating uneaten food from campus dining halls, functions and events.
The program began at CCU during the Spring 2016 semester in collaboration with Aramark, the University’s food service provider. Unused food that was prepared but not sold (and would otherwise be thrown away) at one of the campus dining facilities is being donated to New Directions, a charity that has four Horry County shelter locations. About 75 percent of its clients are children.
“I’ve always wanted to give back to the community,” said Wall Fellow Beatris Petelkova, a senior accounting major. “With so many who go hungry and so many homeless people in our area, it’s a shame that so much food goes to waste here. If we have the opportunity and ability to give food to someone who is hungry, I feel it is our responsibility to do so.”
Aramark is responsible for packaging the unused food from campus dining venues so that everything is done in the most sanitary way possible. “We will be able to use this avenue as an alternative when we have food surplus in our locations on campus,” said Jeffrey Stone of Aramark. “It’s great to be able to help people of need in our local community.”
The Wall Fellows team hopes to expand the program on campus and in the community in the future.
Founded in 2011 at the University of Maryland, the Food Recovery Network has more than 150 chapters nationwide and by 2015 had recovered more than 1 million pounds of food.
Leftovers: Wall Fellows (from left) Jason Tomlinson, Jada Bynum, Nicholas DiDuro, Beatris Petelkova and Jonah Skiles transported food to local charities.