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Have you ever wanted to have a job but did not know if you could balance school as well as work? Running a club makes you have the same thoughts. Being responsible for a student organization on campus is a great way to get to know people as well as keeping busy without having to work around set schedules. I will admit that you are never really “off the clock” when running a club; however, it is an amazing experience and extremely rewarding. Â
Food Recovery Network’s Co-Presidents Megan Kienapfel and Amanda Martinez
Spring quarter of last year I took on the role of Co-President for an on campus organization called Food Recovery Network (FRN). I had only been a member for a quarter but the club needed someone to step up and fill that role since all of that year’s leadership was either graduating, studying abroad, or transferring. My friend that was in the Environmental Sustainability Living and Learning community with me, Amanda Martinez, thankfully was willing to step up and join me as Co-President. I am so thankful for her because she has helped me keep my cool when things get crazy both inside and outside of FRN.
So what exactly is FRN? We are an organization on campus that recovers all the food from Nelson, Nagel, and Centennial Halls dining services, Knoebel Events, all on campus retail locations, Fisher Early Learning Center, and are now working to partner with other student orgs to recover their food, as well! The food that we recover is made by the staff or catering service, but was not served, and would be thrown out otherwise. We then donate the food to Denver Rescue Mission (works with homeless and low-income in the Five Points area) and House of Hope (works with women and children escaping domestic violence). We recover three times per week but do more upon request; the recoveries typically last two hours.
If that sounds like something you want to be involved in, we welcome people in leadership as well as volunteers. For volunteering, you can sign up for whatever amount of recoveries you are comfortable with. Even if the commitment is a bit intimidating, we encourage you or any organization you are involved in to contact us when you host events that have leftover food and we are more than happy to recover it. An example of a partnership we took part in last Spring is when DUPB had an area to make sandwiches for the struggling Denver community during One Day DU. They programmed the event, provided the supplies, and then we brought the sandwiches and leftover ingredients to Denver Rescue Mission. While reading this you may have asked yourself how much food waste can really exist on a college campus where students are always looking for free food. Since starting in 2015, FRN has recovered and donated over 21,000 pounds of food and counting. Join us and you’ll get to witness this act of sustainability and service first-hand!
There is something about being responsible for an organization that makes it feel like your child. I know that sounds cheesy but why else would you be in love with it one minute, get frustrated the next, and still be willing to stay up until you see the sunrise to make sure it has everything it needs? While running a club can honestly be more tiring than a job at some points, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
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Megan Kienapfel
Co-President of FRN
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Email: foodrecoverynetworkdu@gmail.com
Facebook: Food Recovery at DU
Instagram: @foodrecoverydu
Volunteer Signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409094ea5ab2eabfb6-fall