Students Stopping Food Waste
Wednesday, April 28th has been designated as Stop Food Waste Day, a day dedicated to igniting change and combatting the global food waste issue. We spoke with students Claire Raines ‘22 and Goldie Seddon ‘22 on what they are doing to fight against this issue here in our community and how others can follow suit.
Goldie Seddon ‘22, Sustainability: Food Systems
(she/her/hers)
What work have you done to combat food waste?
Goldie Seddon: During orientation, I did a volunteer day with Hilltop Urban Farm and helped turn some compost and it really opened my eyes to the opportunity to get involved with something like that in the Pittsburgh region. I started volunteering with them on a regular basis to compost food scraps from residents and restaurants in the area. I have also worked for the Office of Sustainability with Mary Whitney here at Chatham to get a compost bin started outside of Cafe Rachel. I helped monitor that and raise awareness around what is compostable on our campus. I have plans to expand the compost project through the Green Team to add compost bins for residence halls and mini-compost bins for students in the apartments and commuters. Unfortunately, that was stalled due to COVID but hopefully, we will be able to get that up and running in the next year.
What first got you interested in limiting food waste?
Before I came to Chatham, I was at Community College of Allegheny County’s South campus and I found out about composting through an English project that encouraged me to come up with a plan to fix an issue around me. I was really interested in looking at waste on campus. I ended up launching a huge clean recycling initiative and started working on a worm bin for compost before transferring to Chatham where I have continued to learn more about this topic that I am really passionate about.
How have your studies supported this passion?
Last fall, I took an agroecology course, and through that class I tried out a Johnson-Su Bioreactor composting system to create a more effective composting system for Eden Hall’s community compost. Additionally, I have been working with the Eden Hall farm to create an aerated compost system so that we can create our own compost campus-wide instead of transporting it in. My campus jobs have really helped me do what I love to do with compost and plan for my future as an organic produce farmer. My goal with that is to be self-sustainable and composting is really important for that kind of work, so being able to put what I’ve learned about compost into action here at Chatham has been very beneficial for my future plans.
What’s something we can do on an individual level to limit food waste?
If you’re going to be on campus at all, bring your compostable items to the AgRecycle dumpster behind the Anderson dining hall at the Shadyside campus or the one located behind the dining hall at Eden Hall. I like to store my compost in paper bags and put it in my fridge until I come to campus so it doesn’t smell. It’s also important to know what’s compostable. A lot of students don’t know that the takeout items on campus are compostable and just throw them away. Another great group in Pittsburgh that Claire Raines and I worked with for leftover food from a pop-up pantry that we held was 412 Food Rescue. They help connect leftover foods with places in need across the city.
Claire Raines ‘22, Social Work with a minor in Food Studies
(she/her/hers)
You recently started a group to combat food insecurity on campus. What does that look like?
Claire Raines: We call ourselves The Food Access Initiative and we are a part of the Social Work in Real Life club. It started last summer when my friend, Hanna Theile, and I started having some conversations around food insecurity on our campus and what we can do to help as a lot of these issues have been amplified by the pandemic. We began thinking of doing a garden or a food pantry on campus and other students quickly became interested. So, I reached out to the food bank here in Pittsburgh to work in collaboration with them to do pop-up pantries for students to address the need. We had our first one in October and served fresh produce and staple items to about 40 students. We are continuing to do those and evaluating even more ways we can increase access to fresh produce and foods around dietary restrictions for our students so they can excel in their studies. Something we’re looking to do in the future is group trips to the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry to eliminate the stigma that may be stopping some students from seeking the help they need.
How did you first become interested in this issue?
I went on a mission trip a couple of years ago and worked in a community in the Southside where I first learned about food insecurity and about how invisible of an issue it is. After that experience, I did a couple of other trips to work with individuals one-on-one and I wanted to figure out how to solve this issue and work in a community long-term to help. Since then I’ve just done jobs and volunteer work that look to alleviate food insecurity in communities. My minor in Food Studies has helped show me the restructuring that needs to be done with our food system as well to work on this issue. Looking at college students, there are a lot more facing this issue than you would expect. Especially with the pandemic, a lot of students have had to allocate their funds for other things and don’t have enough left over for healthy and reliable foods.
How are food waste and food insecurity connected?
The issue isn’t that we don’t have enough food, the issue really is who has access to it. Whenever you purchase food and you don’t eat it, that food could have gone to someone else who needs it. I think it’s really important to be conscious of how much food we are purchasing not only to limit waste and make the food available to those who need it, but to prevent prices from spiking on those items due to demand.
What can others do to help?
This issue really stems from systems we have in place, so it’s really important is to put in the time to continuously educate yourself to understand the problem at hand and then have conversations with others about it. Another good place to start is also to advocate for your friends who are facing food insecurity and assist them in any way you can. The local food banks and pantries are always looking for volunteers as well. If any students want to get involved with what The Food Access Initiative is doing at Chatham, they can reach out to me!
Click to learn more about Chatham’s commitment to sustainability. Interested in studying food systems and food waste? Look no further than our Food Studies and Sustainability programs.