Cornell University

Food Recovery Network

Serving Tompkins County

As the Cornell Chapter of the Food Recovery Network, we couple two community problems into one innovative solution. We reduce dining food waste and at the same time tackle our community's hunger by donating surplus meals from Cornell's dining halls to local food pantries. Rather than ending up in the compost, Cornell's extra food now finds itself where it's most at home-- in the hands of the hungry.

On Cornell's campus, our team began recovering food from Becker House Dining Hall in Spring 2014. Surplus meals from the dining hall are donated to the Friendship Donation Network, where they are redistributed to pantries all over the county.

The national organization was founded in 2011 by Ben Simon, then a Maryland University student, who sought to fight waste and feed people by donating dining hall leftovers to his local food pantry. Since then, the organization has grown to more than 198 college campuses, and has donated over 1.76 million pounds of food.

Upcoming Events

E-Board Meetings

Every Wednesday at 4:40

Willard Straight Hall, Loft 1

EXCEPTIONS:

Rockefeller 105 on February 6th, March 6th, March 27th

Goldwin Smith Hall 181 on February 27th and March 20th

All are welcome to join E-Board members during meetings. We love getting to know our members!

FRN Information Sessions

February 4th, 5:30pm

February 5th, 5:30pm

Rockefeller 105

Come swing by if you're interested in learning more about what we do as a club!

G-Body Meeting

February 6th, 5:30pm

Rockefeller 105

First G-Body of the semester! Make sure you come by to learn about upcoming events, opportunities in leadership roles, and fill out your availability for the very first volunteer cycle of the semester. We'll also have a special guest, a representative from the Friendship Donations Network, speak about her organization and its role in providing food to the Ithaca community!

Movie Event: A Place at the Table

March 5th, 7:00pm

Cornell Cinema

"It’s specifically addresses our country’s hunger crisis. But it also speaks to larger hungers. Hungers for independence, a dignified life, a better chance for one’s children – in short, the American dream."

-Mary F. Pols, Time Magazine

50 Million Americans—1 in 4 children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. A Place at the Table tells the powerful stories of three such Americans, who maintain their dignity even as they struggle just to eat. In a riveting journey that will change forever how you think about the hungry, A Place at the Table shows how the issue could be solved forever, once the American public decides—as they have in the past—that ending hunger is in the best interests of us all.

Volunteer Event: Groundswell

March 7th-8th

225 South Fulton St.

Ithaca, NY 14850

Groundswell is hosting events where they are seeking daytime and evening volunteers for set-up, serving snacks, etc.

Movie Event: Just Eat It

April 29th, 7:00pm

Cornell Cinema

"[It] lays out clever scenes, memorable moments, and eye-opening details like a non-fiction buffet. It’s all in the hopes that someday we can take a bite out of the staggering amount of food we waste on this planet – an amount currently estimate at a jaw-dropping 40%."

- Ryan McNeil, The Matinee

Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that would otherwise be thrown away. In a nation where one in 10 people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling. Just Eat It looks at our systemic obsession with expiry dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this seemingly insignificant issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe.

Interested in getting more involved?

Apply for Officer Board positions!

Applications

Click on the Blue to apply!

Recovery Officer Application

Recovery Officers are responsible for leading our dining hall recoveries. As a Recovery Officer, you will be actively managing and teaching your volunteers while directing your recovery to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Recovery Officers are required to participate in 1 training recovery per semester, lead 2 recoveries per cycle, and attend monthly meetings with other FRN officers.
Qualifications: Has attended at least 1-2 recoveries during time in FRN
Training will occur prior to your first solo recovery (within the limits of the requirements stated above), so we encourage everybody with the necessary qualifications to apply even if you do not feel completely comfortable leading a dining hall recovery yet.

Outreach Officer Application

An Outreach Officer will be complete varying tasks each week to advance FRN's community and campus outreach goals. The Officer will work with the Director of Community Outreach, the Director of Campus Outreach, and other Outreach officers. This role includes at least one of the following based on interest and need: managing the Facebook page, participating in meetings with other organizations, and organizing events such as gleanings in the fall semester. The time commitment averages out to 1-2 hours per week.

Please meet our

Partners!

Our Partners

Fighting Waste. Feeding People.

Cornell Dining

Partner Organization

Becker House Dining Room, West Campus

Cook House Dining Room, West Campus

Okenshields Dining Room, Central Campus

Robert Purcell Marketplace Eatery, North Campus

Cornell Dining is committed to serving high-quality foods that are healthy and creatively prepared with genuine care for a diverse community. Their food has consistently been ranked as some of the best in the nation, provided by universities, such as the Princeton Review, and they take pride in providing a rich dining experience, not just a meal.

Cornell Dining has been an important partner organization for us throughout this project. Without their cooperation, safe and easy food recoveries would not be possible.

Friendship Donations Network

Partner Organization

Ithaca, NY

Founded in 1988 by Sara Pines, MSW, PhD, Friendship Donations Network (FDN) redistributes fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise be thrown away in stores and farms to neighbors in need. Each year, FDN diverts over 500,000 pounds of food to feed the hungry.

FDN accomplishes its mission through an extensive network of volunteers who pick up donations of mostly perishable surplus food and deliver them to community pantries and programs. Combined, the pantries and programs serve over 2,100 people weekly.