By: Allie Wilson

I joined MEANS as a volunteer in 2015, the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college that I spent working in a supermarket deli. Frustrated by all of the good food that was being thrown away, a friend recommended I start volunteering with a new nonprofit organization he started collaborating with. Once I learned about MEANS Database and the mission of the organization, I knew I wanted to play a part in helping save food and feed more people.

MEANS Database has grown from our early days as a scrappy group of students volunteering their time to tackle food waste and food insecurity to a nonprofit organization staffed with 3 board members, 8 full time staff, 6 part time staff, as well as a handful of volunteers who dedicate their free time to recovering food. 

In the past 3 years, MEANS has gone through several transformations that have increased our impact and encouraged our team to think outside of the box. From our pivot to the Community Meal Program in 2020, to the creation of our Florida Program in 2021, we’ve seen our network grow and our capacity increase. 

Our biggest change occurred in the second half of 2022, when we were introduced to a whole new world of food recovery: large donation recovery. 

After recovering over 3 million pounds of food in 2022, we started off 2023 with the motto, “New Year, New MEANS”, dreaming of a record breaking year. 

As we amplified our impact by recovering large donations of food, it became clear that we were entering a new chapter in our organization’s history. 

We began donating truckloads of food from warehouses across the country, learning the world of transportation logistics and all of its intricacies along the way. Our fantastic Procurement Manager, William Bell, joined early last year, bringing over 20 years of experience of food recovery with large donations. 

Under his leadership, we were able to donate over 52 million pounds of food and supplies in 2023 alone. To say 2023 was a record breaking year for MEANS would be an understatement!

We decided it was time to pivot towards a fresh look that conveys exactly who we are and what we do.

This is why, in 2024, MEANS Database rebranded as FoodRecovery.org- the same great organization with a clear-cut name describing exactly what we do: Save Food. Feed People. 

We traded in our can logo that represented our original concept which focused on small food donations from restaurants, cafeterias, and events, for a new logo that highlights one of our main features – transportation of recovered food.

We are so excited to continue offering food to communities across the country under this new name and logo. Please continue supporting us as we start this new adventure!

From a devastating fire, a beautiful relationship formed between Bmore Community Food and MEANS Database. A donor introduced us and mentioned their need as they work through this trying time and still make an impact on their community. Since July 20th, we have recovered 92,752 pounds of food which is equivalent to 77,293 meals! Bmore Community Food knows food insecurity is in their community and believes they have the capacity to end hunger if they put their minds to it. With the goal of bringing 10 million pounds of food to Baltimore before 2025, founder and Executive Director, J.C. Faulk, has big dreams he believes are not only possible but probable.

Through this relationship we have been able to provide a continuous supply of food that wouldn’t be possible without both our financial and food donors. No matter what hardships organizations face, people will always need food and Bmore Community Food is committed to helping serve their community. While they ask for a $10 donation when they give out food, around 85% of people do not donate and Bmore Community food still happily gives food to anyone who comes. Just like MEANS, Bmore Community Food sees hunger as a systemic issue that we are working on fixing together. This is not a job for one person or one organization. There is enough food and resources, all it takes are people who are passionate and willing to stand up and help solve the problem.

It’s tragic that so much work can be put into getting food to people yet a person with a match can make such a negative impact. J.C. Faulk feels that this fire has challenged him to not only continue his work, but also grow because nothing will stop him from feeding his community. Together we can end food insecurity; we just need to combine efforts. In fact, together, we have moved more food than we could have done apart. We appreciate all Bmore community food does for their community in Baltimore and are always looking for more organizations we can collaborate with to help waste less and feed more.

By: Grace Hoening

By Espoir Sepa

I am super excited to share with you my first-ever experience in the United States in Washington DC, where I did my fellowship program for three months which started in September 2022 and ended in December 2022. 

The Community Engagement Exchange(CEE) Program is a dynamic global network of innovators working with communities to address critical 21st-century issues. CEE equips dedicated visionaries with the expertise, skills, and resources to develop multisector approaches and build healthy and engaged communities in over 100 countries.

My Trip Experiences

My first experience started in Kenya when I traveled by airplane. Traveling in an airplane was my first experience, and this was an adventure of a lifetime. From Kenya, I traveled to Ghana’s international airport. I will never forget the experience I had. What I hated the most at the airport was the fact that I had a seven-hour transit and indeed the spicy food I ate there.  And finally, when I arrived in the United States, I landed in Michigan, where i was excited to meet more than a hundred co-Community Engagement Exchange fellows coming from eighty different countries to participate in the program. We had fun and got to know each other and meet everyone in person who was involved in the programs such as mentors, coaches, advisors, and the entire CEE team. After staying in a hotel for five days in Michigan for our orientation sessions, I traveled to Washington DC where my host organization was based. When I came to DC, right away when I arrived, I believe my life changed tremendously because I learned many things not only from the organization but also from society.

My Experience Working with MEANS Database

Before I go deeper, allow me to explain what “MEANS Database” is MEANS stands for Matching Excess And Need for Stability. The name was created by co-founders Maria Rose Belding and Grant Nelson in 2014. Food businesses sign up as donors and create a post whenever they have extra food available. 

Basically, when nonprofit users sign up, they tell the team where they are and what type of food they need. When any food donation fitting those parameters becomes available on the system, users get an email or SMS text message about it. If interested, they can claim the donation, and they receive the contact information of the donor, and the donor receives the contact information of the nonprofit to coordinate delivery. Should you have any questions or concerns, visit the website here.

Now, let me dive into sharing my experience working as an IREX fellow at this impactful organization.  I have been focused on environmental protection in Kenya for the past two years. However, working with MEANS Database I have learned that protecting the environment is not all about planting trees, organizing clean-up campaigns, or collecting waste plastics, but also getting to understand how harmful the food we consume daily in our normal life can cause crisis when wasted and how excess food can play a role to end food insecurity. It is not just about collecting extra food, but also about giving it away to people who need it. Food recovery is hard work but rewarding when you know that your efforts are helping those in need.

Cheers to the MEANS Database team for this great initiative. You are truly heroes and I am really grateful to be part of the team.

Challenges with Working Remotely During my Fellowship

Since MEANS Database operates remotely,I found working remotely takes work. But if you are someone who doesn’t like working under the pressure of a boss like me, you will find it interesting as I do. You need to be organized and disciplined, self-motivated, and have a good work-life balance; you will learn a lot in the process. This role require a high level of commitment and a bold heart for learning with I found learning tio work remotely a process to be challenging and required a lot of patience, because I was new to the United States.

I  needed to learn about different cultures, customs, and values that cannot be learned from any book or website alone. I had to rely on my own observations and experiences

throughout each day as well as during meetings and sessions hosted by my

co-workers. In addition, it took me time to understand the U.S. work culture and my co-fellow Jeffrey from Ghana. Along the way, once all our efforts had been completed successfully then our efforts together paid off when management approved our work. 

The Learning Process

I am very happy with my experiences working with MEANS Database. The team was very supportive and helpful, which made it easy for me to get into the flow of things. 

When our group worked together, we made it seem like less work because everyone helped me in many ways. Working with a team allowed me to learn and work with different digital platforms, how to work as a team, how to collaborate, how to do research, how to prepare reports, and how to write grant proposals as well as how to create partnerships with other organizations. Please keep in mind that the process was not easy, but it is worth it if you are determined and motivated. This is the case for me, and I think it’s also true for most people new to working remotely with their organizations.

My Takeaway Skills

As a person who has been in the U.S. for three months now and working with such a big organization here, I can say it is very challenging but worth it. The skills I have acquired are amazing. However, if you want to work in America then there are many things that you need to know before doing your internship, fellowship, or work. 

The most important thing is communication skills because all organizations or companies are looking for someone who knows how to communicate well with other

people from different backgrounds and cultures. Also, time management plays an important role when dealing with people from different backgrounds since most workers have very busy schedules which means that we might not be able to meet them during lunch break or after work hours.

To sum up, I learned so much about food rescue during my fellowship at the MEANS Database organization. I feel that the experience has given me a better understanding of my career goals and what it takes to get there. It’s not easy doing a fellowship in the U.S. but I am happy I had an incredible organization and am looking forward to networking and collaborating with the team in the future.

By: Jeffrey Kwabena Yeboah

The Community Engagement Exchange Program (CEE) is an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) that focuses on developing a global network of emerging civil society leaders who work on community development projects in their home country. According to IREX, “The CEE Program chooses 130 fellows from over one hundred countries for their dedication to improving their community, experience working in civil society programming, and commitment to solving societal problems.” MEANS Database is proud to host 2 fellows from the CEE program who have diverse experiences in waste management and recycling. Through this cross-cultural exchange of knowledge and experiences, MEANS has been able to learn from our fellows and vice-versa.

In 2014, I used to support myself in school by hustling here and there. I was thinking so much of what to do in school to make ends meet. I was allocated a room in commonwealth hall, the only prestigious all-male hall in University of Ghana, Legon. H28 was the room number and it was a mess. A friend advised me to make it “my room” and that statement sunk in deeply. I decorated the place and anyone who came to see it later offered to pay me to decorate their rooms. Over time, my work grew out of campus. I learnt on the job everyday and I realized I had a lot of in-depth passion for it. One day, on a hunt for a center table with a client, we came across a heap of waste car tires blazing with fire. Apparently, the vulcanizers had set fire to them to discard. The smoke churning out of the heap of flames had clouded the area, causing people to flee from the scene, coughing. I saw a woman carrying a child and her eyes were cherry red because of the smoke.

The uncomfortable scene that never seems to leave my memory was a very sad one. I told the client that it would be great for us to find use for the car tires other than burning them and that gave birth to a whole business idea. He gave me the challenge of making a table out of the tires in a week and if it was nice, he would purchase it. I took the challenge and succeeded in making the furniture out of waste car tires and he honored his promise. I used that money to make more and as part of my interior decor work, I made sure to add the small tables from the tires as freebies while preaching the narrative of not burning waste. I researched a lot on the menace of waste burning and it consumed my time for years all while I was simultaneously focusing on my interior decor works and schooling. Since then, I have been looking forward to different ways of sharpening my knowledge and experience on problem identification and solving with relation to automobile waste upcycling and Interior decor. I have enrolled in different engagement programmes in Ghana, Burkina Faso and The United Arab Emirates.

Fast forward to 2018, I scaled up my business. I have since started full interior designing and decor for homes and offices in Ghana. In addition to the service aspect of the business, I make interior and exterior decor products from automobile waste resources. Again, I have formed a team from some Universities in Accra, Ghana, namely University of Ghana, Central University, Ashesi University, University of Professional Studies, and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration. Our goal is to educate people on the importance of changing the narrative of waste to waste resource and also in the near future organize training for the youth. All of these great ideas and more need training. I felt in my heart that there is definitely an opportunity out there for me to enhance my knowledge, create an impactful network and fuel my passion.

In 2020, one evening, a friend in the fight against Climate Change sent me a link to the Community Engagement Exchange Program. Excited as I was, I did my research on the program and realized it could be very helpful. I had no time to inform my team about the program because I had only about three hours until the application was closed. I applied for the program and informed my core team the next day. In a few months, I got an email from CEE that I have been selected among 130 participants out of over 4,400 candidates. The feeling was overwhelming in summary. 

There are a lot of Exchange Programmes organized by IREX and Community Engagement Exchange (CEE) is one of them. The maiden event aims at equipping its first cohort of 130 young people from over 100 countries with the necessary skills,resources,expertise and abundant resources to combat 21st century global issues. The program brings together civil society leaders ages 21-28 who are passionate about solving problems in their communities in any of these four listed thematic areas, Youth Engagement, Women and Gender Issues, Resilience and Sustainable Development, Open and Participatory Government, and Civic Dialogue and Peace Building. This resourceful program aimed at providing skills to young fellows across the world is sponsored by the US Department of State.

After satisfying all the requirements which included English Proficiency Examinations and other exciting modules, the program was postponed three times because of COVID-19. We remained resilient and that process taught all of us a great lesson. It made us appreciate the waiting period in life. It made us , in this case – me, appreciate the fact that there are no accidents in life. A lot of great things happened during this period. I was able to take a contract in Accra, Ghana under the name of my company. I designed and decorated an office space in Accra within a month. I built my first set of furniture and I realized how ready I was for the world. I landed another contract for a two storey building house in Accra which needed a full interior design and decor services. I told the client about my traveling and he decided to wait for me so I will return in December after my practicum to complete it. They say good things happen to those who wait and CEE made that statement a reality for all of us, or most of us, depending on how you view the world. 

I was very excited on the night of 4th february as I got on the nonstop flight to Washington Dulles, USA. I arrived at the airport at 6:20am and met other fellows who were also connecting flights to Detroit Metro. Our flight got delayed for about 3 hours. It was still sunny after 6pm when the bus got us to Downtown Detroit. We were comforted by the beautiful hotel after the long hours of waiting for the local flight at Dulles Airport to Michigan. We joined the already existing queue to quickly take our Covid test. The swift process only took about 15 minutes. We then moved to our room to collect our neatly arranged souvenirs and took the keys from the Reception area to our allocated rooms. The view from my room was a sight to behold. I could see taller buildings and I took time to inhale the moment! From across the hotel, I could see Canada. That’s the first time I could see a country’s ending point and the beginning of another country. We had dinner, met new friends and enjoyed the new view. We were at least out of our scope to a new one.It was a beautiful moment seeing different cultures, different smiles, different people, all grouped together in one space at the same time. That very moment I realized the very importance of CEE was networking.

The next day was the game changer for me and I think most of us. There was a session about our Personal Code of Conduct and values. We were made to clarify the principles that we would like to include in our personal code of conduct and what our top values will be as leaders. This exercise revealed the hidden virtues, values and beliefs I had in my subconscious. I chose, in order of Priority, Spirituality, Integrity, Ethics, Environment and Creativity as my top counted Values. These are values I have within me for decades but I have never paid attention to any of them that much, in detail. The session allowed me to meditate on them and prepare my mind for challenges. The session made me yearn for difficult challenges just so I will be able to use my first five codes to solve them easily and happily. I sum all the codes into one mantra I have been using for sometime now-THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS. We learn from every challenge and it’s up to us as humans to learn joyfully or painfully. I choose joyfully every time.

Then came the day for our “Detroit in Context Tour”. We toured the city with a well informed guide who opened up Detroit for us historically. It was a beautiful experience because of my passion for creativity, architecture and design. I later got the opportunity to have an eye-opening conversation with my mentor Stephen Lavalah from Liberia and CEE specialist, Chibuzor Charles Agomuoh from Nigeria. These two gentlemen shared with me some advice and directions and it influenced me a lot. They did it voluntarily. I took advantage of the orientation process which was full of many resources and guidelines to a much better person. It enhanced my way of thinking, appreciating the gift of today by learning from the events of yesterday and being hopeful for a better tomorrow for myself and my community.

We left Detroit Michigan for our respective states to begin our Practicum journey. I was paired with MEANS Database in Washington DC. I asked myself a lot of questions- why was I assigned to an organization that is into food recovery while my passion is interior designing and creativity through upcycling of automobile waste resources? Then I got to understand that it is still aligned with my passion. This is because MEANS Database is also passionate about recovering food resources in a creative and efficient way. They are changing the waste narrative just as I am doing in my small impactful corner back home, in Ghana. The beautiful hearts of MEANS Database in no order, Allie, Oliver, Kenna, Sammie, Suzy, Naomi, Ellen and my CEE colleague Sepa have made working experience rather fun for me. I enjoy how we work with beaming smiles. I have since been working with the NGO and it has been very exciting. I am being challenged to work outside my comfort zone and try new ways of getting results. This writeup is even one of the many things because I prefer telling stories by speaking other than writing.

The CEE program has been very phenomenal in shaping my mind and given me a broader perspective of the world. It has made me appreciate my core values in a broader scope and made me love my country more. I have learnt a lot of things so far and I cannot wait to go back home. I cannot wait to be the change I have longed to see in the world, precisely in my community in Ghana. I cannot wait to impact my community by being an example of possibility.

Program Description 

MEANS Database is seeking a Program Manager applicant based in Florida to join our team starting in mid-September. As a food recovery platform, we have been making strides to increase food recovery in Florida and are looking for a food waste savvy, multitasking master to join our team. While our team is remote, we’re looking for a Florida-based individual to assist with outreach and attend in-person events on behalf of MEANS. If you are interested, please send a cover letter and resumé to seniorstaff@foodrecovery.org  by August 22, 2022. 

Tasks: 

• Coordinate food recovery outreach in the state of Florida- with a special emphasis on Orange and Sarasota Counties.
• Create biweekly reports to update stakeholders on progress within the state of Florida.
• Present MEANS Database to nonprofit organizations, businesses, school districts, and municipal governments through multimedia presentations.
• Lead weekly meetings with MEANS staff focusing on the Florida program and attend related meetings.
• Serve as a point of contact for donation drivers and community partners across the state.
• Collaborate with potential food donors, nonprofits, mutual aid organizations, and community members to develop an inclusive and functional food recovery system.
• Work with other program managers on ongoing food recovery initiatives across the country.  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, Associate’s degree,  or similar experience.
• Experiencing leading a small team to reach measurable goals.
• Proficiency in Google Drive and Canva.
• Understanding of food pantry operations, food service operations, or related areas.
• Passionate about food systems, food sovereignty, food recovery, food waste, or food insecurity in America.
• Currently reside within the state of Florida.

Compensation and Benefits

This position is a salaried, full-time, W-2 position, with base salary and additional opportunities for performance-based bonuses. The base salary of this position is paid biweekly at a rate of $1923.08 per pay period for a yearly base pay of $50,000.00 (before taxes). Full-time staff are expected to work an average of 36 hours per week including our weekly staff meeting. 

Benefits include:

• Half-day Fridays
• Volunteer Time Off
• Four weeks of PTO
• Additional Holiday Leave
• Sick Leave
• Mental Health time
• Health insurance through a QSEHRA plan

Even two years later, the United States is still recovering from the aftermath of the SARS-COVID-19 pandemic. During the immediate lockdowns and government shutdowns, the essentials such as food became scarce, but the burden was unequally distributed. The pandemic deeply exacerbated existing disparities and in 2020, left 20% of low-income adults marginally food insecure, and 44% food insecure, affecting more Hispanic and Black communities than white. Those with low or very low security reported their local stores being more sold out of products pandemic conditions encouraged stockpiling. As supply lines were unable to keep up with rising demand, families without savings and the opportunity to purchase for the future, faced food shortages.

By December 2021, across all income levels, one-third fewer households experienced food insecurity than in December 2020. Still, statistics show that a larger proportion of food insecure households are Black (20%), Hispanic (16%), or sexual minorities (13%) compared to whites (7%) or Asians (4%), highlighting the continuous disparities even as we move out of the pandemic shutdowns. As we address food insecurity nationwide, these disparities cannot be discounted.

These increases have been driven, in part, by rising food costs. As pictured below, January of 2020 exhibited a sharp increase in supermarket prices, nearing 6% within only a month or two. To many families, this is a very significant difference. For example, beef, pork, and chicken prices are respectively 26.2%, 19.2%, and 14.8% higher in October 2021 than January 2020. These changes in prices disproportionately affects families of lower SES significantly more than higher. The average price-per-pound of fresh vegetables shipped increased 19% and fresh fruit was up by 10% from December 2021. This pressure is not limited to consumers, but food banks as well. According to Feeding America’s food network, their food banks have been serving 55 percent more people. Coupled with higher food prices, safety networks have struggled as well.

So how do we move forward? Acts such as the CARES act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provide direct support, but lack the structural change necessary to face the perpetual problem of hunger in the United States. SNAP offers a safety net and has increased during the pandemic, but with inflation rising and food insecurity remaining higher than 2019, the benefits must continue to reflect this change. For the foreseeable future, this resource’s expansion is vital in supporting food security. While a step in the right direction, we, as a nation, must emphasize change to our food systems and legislation. Combined with the 133 billion pounds of food wasted annually, there must be a better intersection between ending waste and decreasing food insecurity.

By: Victoria Cao

Fighting Hunger: How Congress Should Combat Food Insecurity Among Low-Income Americans.

The Food Bank Response to COVID in Numbers | Feeding America.

Food Insecurity and COVID-19: Disparities in Early Effects for US Adults

Inflation Gobbles up Fresh Produce, Driving up Price of Super Bowl Guacamole.

What Is Driving the Increase in Food Prices?

MEANS Database and Grubhub Community Fund Continue Food Recovery Initiatives

Washington, DC (June 9, 2022): MEANS Database is pleased to announce the continuation of our partnership with Grubhub in order to support food recovery initiatives such as the Community Meal Program and Food Recovery Program.

With support from the Grubhub Community Fund, MEANS Database will be able to continue the Community Meal Program to provide funds to small businesses that provide culturally-appropriate meals to local nonprofits that serve community members facing food insecurity.

“MEANS Database is looking forward to continuing our work with Grubhub for 2022 and 2023. Through this partnership so far, we have provided 550,000 meals to nonprofits across the country and over $4 million to small and medium-sized restaurants as they recover from COVID-19 shutdowns. With this grant we are eager to continue to support nonprofits in seven cities and continue our food recovery efforts nationwide,” states Kenna Rogers, Senior Project Manager at MEANS Database.

Our Food Recovery Program supports both businesses and community members facing food insecurity in the short-term with food donations, while building a long-term sustainable network of businesses and nonprofit organizations for food recovery in the future. The creation of cooperative networks across the food system is essential for sustaining successful partnerships that reduce excess food waste.

“Grubhub has more than 320,000 independent restaurants at the heart of our business, and we are uniquely positioned to help connect them to incredible organizations like MEANS Database to make the most of their leftover food supply,” said Brett Swanson, Grubhub’s Sr. Manager for Community Affairs & Social Impact. “No one – especially the 13.8 million children in the U.S. who experience food insecurity – should have to wonder where they’ll get their next meal. The Community Meal Program and Food Recovery Program are absolutely critical resources for families and we’re happy to offer our support.”

MEANS Database is grateful for the opportunity to expand our Community Meal Program and Food Recovery Program to support communities across the country with the support of the Grubhub Community Fund.

MEANS Database modernizes food recovery by connecting excess food to organizations and individuals who need it. Our organization has two major goals: to reduce food waste and reroute that food to feed people facing food insecurity. Since 2015, MEANS Database has expanded its network to over 3,000 users in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and has successfully recovered over 4 million pounds of food. For more information, visit foodrecovery.org.

March is Women’s History month and here at MEANS we’re reflecting on the month by highlighting important women in the food recovery movement throughout history! There are many women who have made large strides in the fight against hunger and the push to eat and shop sustainably that have unfortunately not been commended for their efforts. 

Among these influential women is Alice Waters, an American chef and activist born in Chatham, New Jersey. Best known for being a “leading proponent of the ‘slow food’ movement,” Waters was a dedicated activist of farm-to-table cooking and developing relationships with local farmers and grocers (Britannica). In the 1970s, she and a friend decided to chase this passion by opening a restaurant named Chez Panisse in California. The restaurant was wholly dedicated to serving organic, all-natural meals using only locally-grown, seasonal ingredients with little to no food waste. After establishing her restaurant and watching it grow, Waters decided to focus her efforts on other facets of food activism.

She first participated in the Garden Project, which was a program based out of San Francisco with the goal of providing fresh produce to the San Francisco county jail, as well as providing jobs for its former inmates. Many projects and programs later, Waters decided to start a program of her own in 1995, and called it the Edible Schoolyard. The program began by Waters planting a vegetable garden in the field of the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkley, CA. A cooking classroom was also added to the building and “by 2009 the Edible Schoolyard was a thriving educational tool” (Britannica). However, Waters wanted to take it one step further. After the Edible Schoolyard began to expand into other major cities such as New Orleans and Los Angeles, she began to persuade the government to provide more funding to school lunches, so as to provide more nutritious meals for the students. Although many people argued that nutritional meals were too expensive, especially for an already-underfunded school system, Waters’ motto was always, “if we do it right, the money will come” (Britannica)

In 2015, Waters was awarded the National Humanities Medal by former President Barack Obama, and also earned a lifetime achievement award, given by the James Beard foundation. Waters is currently continuing to lobby for sustainable school lunches in the California region in partnership with local farmers, in an effort to benefit both students and agriculture (OpenTable).

We are so amazed by everything Alice Waters has accomplished and all her efforts to move the food sustainability effort forward. Women’s History Month is so important to us here at MEANS and we are honored to highlight such an influential woman!

By: Alexa Berry

Sources: 

Alice Waters

Most Inspiring Female Food Chefs in History