{"id":34776,"date":"2025-05-22T13:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/?page_id=34776"},"modified":"2025-05-22T13:00:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T17:00:29","slug":"food-rescue-maine-sumner-internship-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/food-rescue-maine-sumner-internship-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Rescue MAINE Sumner Internship Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supported by the Sumner Scholarship Endowment Foundation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Food waste is one of Maine\u2019s most pressing issues. It is a symptom of a failing food system with major<br>economic, health and environmental impacts affecting all Maine people. Food makes up the single largest component of our municipal waste stream at 30%. And while the majority of that food is good and edible, almost all of this wasted food goes into our state\u2019s landfills.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_98bdc6-a4 .kt-block-spacer{height:20px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_98bdc6-a4 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#abb8c3;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-34776_98bdc6-a4\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2024 Sumner Interns<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"861\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-861x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Megan Sauberlich\" class=\"wp-image-34781\" style=\"width:156px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-861x1024.jpeg 861w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-252x300.jpeg 252w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-768x913.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-1292x1536.jpeg 1292w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-1723x2048.jpeg 1723w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-105x125.jpeg 105w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-317x377.jpeg 317w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-423x503.jpeg 423w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-634x754.jpeg 634w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-846x1006.jpeg 846w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-951x1130.jpeg 951w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Sauberlich_Megan-1268x1507.jpeg 1268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,861px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Megan Sauberlich, Economics, 91¸£Àû<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Megan spent the summer on a project in partnership with the Northern Light Health Care System to track and measure wasted food and food loss in the hospital sector. Working with economics researcher Travis Blackmer, Megan is developing a system to collect key food waste data that will generate economic, health\/nutrition, and environmental benefits for one of Maine\u2019s largest health care providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re really trying to get stakeholders to be curious about the process and educating them about how it might be beneficial to them in the long run,\u201d Megan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Megan didn\u2019t know much about food waste when she started the position, but once she started the work and learned more about Food Rescue MAINE, she saw how it related to her studies and her interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo many could benefit from tracking their food waste, but there\u2019s a gap in understanding and awareness of the numbers. I thought my major could help highlight the financial aspect of food waste in Maine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_c73dad-33 .kt-block-spacer{height:20px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_c73dad-33 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#abb8c3;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-34776_c73dad-33\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"944\" height=\"986\" src=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn.png\" alt=\"Kathryn Busko\" class=\"wp-image-34782\" style=\"width:167px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn.png 944w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-287x300.png 287w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-768x802.png 768w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-105x110.png 105w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-317x331.png 317w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-423x442.png 423w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-634x662.png 634w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-846x884.png 846w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Busko_Kathryn-32x32.png 32w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,944px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kathryn Busko, Ecology &amp; Environmental Sciences, 91¸£Àû<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As the communication and education intern, Kathryn is working to educate the public about food waste through the <a href=\"http:\/\/umaine.edu\/foodrescuemaine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Food Rescue MAINE<\/a> website and social media program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kathryn said that her main strategy is to make food waste education accessible and digestable by posting \u201cbite-sized chunks,\u201d of information to help Maine consumers reduce their food waste. She is particularly proud of the educational posts she has made for the Food Rescue MAINE Instagram (@foodrescuemaine) which has greatly increasing the number of followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the most difficult parts of trying to communicate about food waste is that<br>a lot of people don\u2019t realize that they waste food,\u201d Kathryn said. \u201cI think that says a lot about how we see our waste and how visible it is to us. My goal is to make food waste part of Mainers\u2019 everyday awareness and action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_2132e1-5f .kt-block-spacer{height:20px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_2132e1-5f .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#abb8c3;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-34776_2132e1-5f\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2023 Sumner Interns<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"507\" height=\"692\" src=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto.jpeg\" alt=\"Estephanie Baez-Vazquez\" class=\"wp-image-34780\" style=\"width:143px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto.jpeg 507w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto-220x300.jpeg 220w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto-103x140.jpeg 103w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto-317x433.jpeg 317w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Estephanie_Baez-Vazquezphoto-423x577.jpeg 423w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,507px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Estephanie Baez-Vazquez, University of Maine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Estephanie is a fourth year Psychology major with a focus in developmental psychology. Beyond her studies, she plays the alto saxophone in the 91¸£Àû&#8217;s Screamin&#8217; Black Bear Pep Band and also work in the Sacred Heart Research Collaborative&#8217;s Attachment Theory Workshop. Estephanie has lived in Maine for the last 16 years and she&#8217;s passionate about keeping her home sustainable through helping solve the challenge of food waste.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_3cad09-04 .kt-block-spacer{height:20px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-34776_3cad09-04 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#abb8c3;width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-34776_3cad09-04\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"685\" src=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm.jpg\" alt=\"Colin Smith\" class=\"wp-image-34779\" style=\"width:148px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm.jpg 500w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm-219x300.jpg 219w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm-102x140.jpg 102w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm-317x434.jpg 317w, https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/293\/2025\/05\/Colin_Smith-sm-423x580.jpg 423w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 85vw, (max-width: 768px) 67vw, (max-width: 1024px) 62vw,500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colin Smith, University of Maine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Colin is studying Environmental Science and Economics at the University of Maine. He is from northeast Connecticut and enjoys hiking, camping, and everything else outdoorsy. He wanted to take this internship because it was a great opportunity to practice what he&#8217;s been learning in his classes in a real-world setting. Trying to work towards a more sustainable future is always something he strives for personally!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supported by the Sumner Scholarship Endowment Foundation Food waste is one of Maine\u2019s most pressing issues. It is a symptom of a failing food system with majoreconomic, health and environmental impacts affecting all Maine people. Food makes up the single largest component of our municipal waste stream at 30%. And while the majority of that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","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-34776","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"mitchellcenter","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/author\/mitchellcenter\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34776","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\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34783,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34776\/revisions\/34783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mitchellcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}