{"id":24869,"date":"2021-11-17T11:36:16","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T16:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=24869"},"modified":"2022-02-28T12:41:07","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T17:41:07","slug":"raising-awareness-inspiring-action-and-developing-tools-to-help-reduce-food-waste-in-maine","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/raising-awareness-inspiring-action-and-developing-tools-to-help-reduce-food-waste-in-maine\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising awareness, inspiring action and developing tools to help reduce food waste in Maine"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team of undergraduate students works with stakeholder partners and faculty advisors to help reduce wasted food and feed people in need.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

November 2021<\/p>\n

\"\"In the United States we waste 30-40% of the food we produce, <\/span>Susanne Lee<\/a> says in a September 2021 <\/span>interview<\/a> with Maine Public about food waste and climate change. That\u2019s like buying five bags of groceries and leaving two of them behind in the parking lot, she adds. Lee is a Mitchell Center faculty fellow who leads Food Rescue MAINE, a statewide project to reduce food waste and food loss, and address food insecurity, with \u201ctriple-bottom-line\u201d solutions that have environmental, economic and social benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the project launched in 2019, students from 91福利, other University of Maine System universities and other institutions have been working with faculty advisors and stakeholder partners to <\/span>tackle food waste in Maine<\/a>. They\u2019ve identified <\/span>six solutions<\/a> to focus on, including helping businesses track and reduce food waste, connecting farms and other food producers that have excess food with those in need, and helping schools and communities launch food recycling programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming part of the solution<\/h3>\n

The student team focused on Solution 3 seeks to educate the public about food waste and motivate people to reduce wasted food.<\/span><\/p>\n

In pursuit of that goal, a team of three undergraduate students\u2014two from 91福利 and one from Thomas College\u2014is working this fall on a variety of projects. They are building on earlier student accomplishments that include launching the Food Rescue MAINE <\/a><\/span>website and the \u201cMaine Food\u2014Too Good to Waste\u201d campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

Work on Solution 3 took off in spring 2021 when Food Rescue MAINE <\/span>received funding<\/a> from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection\u2019s (DEP) Waste Diversion Grants program.<\/span> The project\u2019s goals align with DEP\u2019s <\/span>Food Recovery Hierarchy<\/a>, which prioritizes the ways that food is used to make the most of Maine\u2019s resources and reduce waste. The Food Rescue MAINE project is the first statewide food waste education campaign funded by this DEP program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Food Rescue MAINE students have been working closely with 91福利\u2019s Division of Marketing and Communications on building and maintaining the project website, branding, and designing a social media strategy. In summer 2021, 91福利 undergraduate Gabby Sands expanded and refined the <\/span>website with guidance from 91福利\u2019s Digital Communication team. Elyse St. Pierre, also a 91福利 undergraduate, worked on developing educational materials for communities that have launched food recycling pilot programs, including a brochure and a collection of educational content that can be used on websites and in social media.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hannah
Hannah Mathieu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hannah Mathieu<\/b><\/a>, a 91福利 junior majoring in environmental science and English who joined the project midway through the spring 2021 semester, is working on the website this fall. She\u2019s also building on the work done last spring with elementary schools in Winslow, Readfield and Portland, helping them to create and implement strategies for reducing food waste, such as an educational postcard to go home with students in their lunchboxes. School partners are using the materials developed by the team and Mathieu meets with them regularly to learn what\u2019s working and what can be improved.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Kalina Kinyon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To help people connect with Food Rescue MAINE, 91福利 sophomore <\/span>Kalina Kinyon<\/b><\/a> initiated a social media presence for the project in spring 2021 and is busy developing content and managing the project\u2019s social sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Kinyon is an environmental science major with a concentration in sustainability and a minor in economics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Hannah Crayton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hannah Crayton<\/a>, <\/b>an undergraduate at Thomas College majoring in environmental science and policy with a minor in education, has worked on several Food Rescue MAINE projects. This fall she is creating an e-newsletter that will provide resources and help people connect with others working on food waste. The project already has a sizable email list of stakeholders, partners and other supporters\u2014more than 900 strong. She also continues to work with Maine towns that have launched food recycling programs, including Winslow, Waterville, Readfield and Portland, on their efforts to engage and educate local residents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Real world learning and experience<\/h3>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what a stakeholder was before I started this internship,\u201d says Kinyon, who joined the project during the last academic year as a first-year student. \u201cWithin the first few months I\u2019ve had to learn a lot of things fast to keep up with the other interns,\u201d she says. \u201cBut those things, like learning how to communicate with stakeholders, following the branding guidelines for the website and social media, really helped me create a whole new space for skills that I didn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Susanne Lee notes that she usually looks for juniors and seniors to bring on as interns, but she was struck by Kinyon\u2019s creativity, eagerness to learn\u2014and her persistence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s background and experience in business, management and marketing infuse the project with a real-world focus. She wants students to find value in the internship for their own academic and professional development\u2014building skills, making connections, taking ownership of their work\u2014as they also move the project forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOther students I know have internships where they spend a lot of time being an office assistant or just kind of shadowing other people,\u201d says Hannah Crayton. \u201cBut this internship is very hands-on where you\u2019re actually doing the work. I feel like I\u2019m already working in my field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with developing new skills, the students are also tapping into a wide range of resources available to help them succeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kalina Kinyon talks about the mentoring she\u2019s received from 91福利 social media specialist Samantha Perry and other social media experts on campus. She is also learning from a Maine Business School contact of Lee\u2019s who runs a social media marketing company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of running around and doing all this research on our own, we can often just talk to someone who can be a mentor and give you feedback on what you\u2019re working on. I haven\u2019t had a whole lot of that outside of this internship experience,\u201d says Hannah Crayton. \u201cI\u2019m finding that people are really available and ready to help you learn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Real benefits for Maine communities<\/h3>\n

The students\u2019 work provides real value for Maine as well. Lee says that the Food Rescue MAINE website<\/a> serves as a statewide resource for learning about and tackling food waste in Maine\u2014the first of its kind in the state. The coming e-newsletter will provide resources and help people learn about what\u2019s happening with food waste in Maine and how they can connect with others working on food waste .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
A student poster from the Waterville food recycling project launch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By supporting the food recycling efforts of schools, towns and cities\u2014such as a program launched in July 2021 in Readfield in collaboration with the towns of Wayne and Fayetteville\u2014the Solution 3 interns are helping communities save money, reduce food insecurity, and engage residents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Susanne Lee calls these communication efforts \u201ccommunity marketing,\u201d working with towns as well as libraries and other organizations to spread the word and get people involved in reducing food waste. She also notes that the resources the interns are developing, from educational materials for schools to flyers and postcards, are designed to be easily adaptable so that communities around the state can make use of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning to lead<\/h3>\n

Opportunities to step into leadership roles are not necessarily abundant for undergraduate students. The interns working on this project are developing leadership, project management, and problem-solving skills, a learning process which can feel daunting but is also empowering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSusanne is always talking about leading without authority,\u201d says Hannah Mathieu, \u201chaving the confidence to talk about what you are doing, even if you don\u2019t have that much experience and don\u2019t have authority over people you\u2019re working with. That\u2019s been really valuable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the biggest thing that this internship has done for me is to push me outside my comfort zone,\u201d Mathieu continues. \u201cTalking with stakeholders and people with years and years of experience is definitely a scary thing, but I\u2019m thankful that I\u2019ve been able to learn and practice doing it. I don\u2019t think I would put myself out there as much as I go through my college experience if I hadn\u2019t done this internship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A team of undergraduate students works with stakeholder partners and faculty advisors to help reduce wasted food and feed people in need. November 2021 In the United States we waste 30-40% of the food we produce, Susanne Lee says in a September 2021 interview with Maine Public about food waste and climate change. That\u2019s like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1706,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24869","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24869"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25785,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24869\/revisions\/25785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}