By Amber Alarid, JVA Consutling
The eighth in our series of Big Ideas for 2013 blogs, this blog explores Hana Dansky’s big idea to prevent food waste. The brain-child of Dansky and several friends, Boulder Food Rescue collects and redistributes fresh foods in the Boulder area, preventing food from being thrown away and providing nutritious meals to those in need.
The problem
Hunger and food waste are widespread problems in the United States. According to Dansky, 40 percent of the food in the U.S. goes to waste, with dietary staples such as fresh fruits and vegetables being the most susceptible to waste. At the same time, one in six people in the U.S. are hungry.
Though other organizations in Boulder, including food pantries and grocery stores, have taken up the noble fight against hunger by donating and redistributing food, some are ill equipped to deal with the complexity of redistributing fresh foods. Many are only able to accept nonperishable items in shelf-ready conditions because of the time it takes to sort and redistribute food.
The solution
To help pantries stock fresh, healthy foods, Boulder Food Rescue focuses on quickly redistributing perishable items, such as produce, that are at risk of being thrown away, directly from donors to recipients, eliminating the risk of letting the food spoil in transit.
Traveling mostly by bike to reduce environmental impact, volunteers, board members and the lone staff member—Executive Director Hana Dansky—peddle in a race against time to collect food several times a day from generous donors like Whole Foods Market and Breadworks, and distribute it to recipients like Attention Homes North and Circle of Care.
Though volunteers take great joy in picking up and dropping off food, Boulder Food Rescue sees a greater opportunity for recipients and volunteers—breaking down class barriers. Rather than merely making deliveries, volunteers are encouraged to stay and help prepare meals and dine with clients, eliminating the class barriers typical of a donor-recipient relationship. If possible, recipients are also encouraged to participate in donation pick-ups, forging relationships with neighborhood businesses.
Recipients are also empowered to learn more about nutrition and food preservation, making the most of the healthy foods that Boulder Food Rescue makes accessible to them. Boulder Food Rescue also provides support for organizations by building up their capacity to explore healthy cooking, canning and other food related skills.
“I think what’s cool about BFR is it addresses class struggle, hunger and environmental issues,” says Dansky. “I think the most tangible thing that we’d like to reach is to saturate the homeless and impoverished population in Boulder with as much healthy food as they can handle.”
Dansky strongly recommends that everyone find a cause they are deeply passionate about and get involved. If that passion is Boulder Food Rescue, there are opportunities to lead classes, deliver food, fix bikes and even start a food rescue in your neighborhood. Boulder Food Rescue has created a guide and online community for those seeking to duplicate the model in other cities. Among the resources available to food rescue start-ups is “The Robot,” an application that allows for the tracking of food donations and scheduling of volunteers.
To watch a video testimonial about the organization, click here. For more information, visit its website www.boulderfoodrescue.org.
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