At lunch time inside American University’s (AU) dining hall, food is hot and stomachs are empty.
Every day, chefs whip up something delicious to eat. But once the food is served, what happens to the dishes that don’t make it to a plate?
It’s a question Gabriela Selmonosky, the president of the AU’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, has thought about since middle school.
About one in three people in the greater Washington area experience some type of food insecurity, according to the Capital Area Food Bank.
“It made me really upset that all of this perfectly good food was going to waste, and I could also see increasing numbers in my community that needed the food,” she told News4.
AU’s Food Recovery Network’s mission is to fight against climate change and hunger. Since the start of the fall semester, she along with her classmates have mobilized to ensure the food that isn’t served in the cafeteria is going to a place that needs it, donating more than 3,000 pounds of warm, prepared food.
“Sometimes it’s getting served within the minute while it’s there, sometimes it goes into their storage or distribution process,” Selmonosky said.
AU’s Food Recovery Network is averaging about 400 pounds per week in which they’re taking leftover food and giving it to organizations who are helping those who are struggling with food insecurity.
AU’s dining hall staff along with the university’s zero waste office are key partners to make this happen.
“I just get the food ready for them, we get them into disposable pans, we make sure we cool it all down,” said Robert Marquez, the senior executive chef at AU.
“Doing my best to make sure nothing gets thrown away that doesn’t need, that things get to the best possible outcome,” said Caroline Boone, the manager of Zero Waste at AU.
Food is dropped off at one of four food pantries and shelters, like the nonprofit So Others Might Eat.
“This time of year, we have families coming in, we have kids coming into our dining room, our food pantry,” said David McCorvey, the communications and marketing at So Others Might Eat. “We do about 800 meals a day.”
“There’s hungry people in this country,” Marquez said. “And there should be nobody that goes hungry in our country.”
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