WKU News

WKU’s Food Recovery Network is celebrating a milestone. More than 5,000 pounds of food has been picked up and distributed to local nonprofits.

WKU’s Amy Bingham has more on the volunteers determined not to let food go to waste in this week’s View from the Hill.

“I usually do recoveries once or twice a week.”

Senior Austin Brown is a regular volunteer with WKU’s Food Recovery Network.

“It makes me feel amazing just really getting out there and seeing the effect that it has on people.”

Not just picking up excess food from WKU restaurants but delivering it to local nonprofits.

“It’s been an absolute blessing for us to be able supplement things we were already short on, already having to purchase anyway. “

WKU’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network was founded by senior Elaine Losekamp in January 2019 after she was inspired at a sustainability conference.

“I’d been aware that food waste was a serious issue before that but I didn’t really know about what people could do to solve the problem.”

Now more than 5,000 pounds of food and close to 30 volunteers later, food that would otherwise be thrown away is getting into the stomachs of people who need it.

“For a lot of them, especially smaller nonprofits it can be  a challenge for them to provide food on a consistent basis so if we can help supplement that it’s a help for them.”

“All of our residents here, because of their drug and alcohol addiction, are able to obtain SNAP benefits but it’s still only $200 a month. When you’re feeding between 20 and 30 men, seven days a week, three meals a day, $200 a month doesn’t go very far.”

Losekamp coordinates pickups and deliveries five days a week. Volunteers stop in restaurants like Subway, Einstein’s and DaVinci’s to name a few.

All in the name of addressing food insecurity in our community.

“You learn about how you can make an impact but to go out and do something is really rewarding.”

• More: On Thursday night, President Timothy C. Caboni recognized WKU’s Food Recovery Network chapter for the milestone of recovering more than 5,000 pounds of food.