Maria Rose Belding: L’Oreal Women of Worth and Co-Founder of the MEANS Database

At first glance, Maria Rose Belding seems like your average college student. She’s easy-going, fun to talk with and is dedicated to her studies. However, Maria is also the Co-founder and executive director of MEANS, a non-profit which was created to help connect food pantries across the United States to ensure food never goes to waste. 

According to their Facebook page, “When a community pantry receives a large corporate or private donation of a single product, that pantry often cannot distribute these close-to-expiration goods in time and ends up having to throw away a portion of them. Meanwhile, food charities in nearby communities may actually be in need of these goods and are getting them at cost from the state food bank or a local grocery store. MEANS is designed to bridge this gap, easing the communication burden on local pantries currently forced to contact each potential taker of these goods one at a time. MEANS simplifies this process by allowing pantries to post their excess or needs on this website, which will then be matched up against other area pantries’ data.”

This year, MEANS won the 2015 GW Business Plan Competition and was also named the Top Non-Profit. In addition to that, Maria was nominated as a L’Oreal Women of Worth for her amazing work. How does she do it all? Her Campus American got the chance to talk with Maria about just that!

Her Campus American University: What’s your major?

Maria Rose Belding: Public Health/Pre-Med 

HCAU: Hometown?

MB: Pella, Iowa 

HCAU: How did you get the idea for MEANS?

MB: I got the idea after the food pantry in my hometown got a 10,000-box donation of Macaroni and Cheese during 9th grade. A lot of it went to waste because we couldn’t communicate, and the idea for MEANS was born. 

HCAU: What was the hardest part about getting MEANS started? 

MB: Taking the idea off paper and into reality. I spent four years of high school trying to build the website. I knew nothing about code and I was stuck until I randomly met Grant Nelson, our co-founder and CTO. He’s the reason we have a website, which is the reason we have MEANS. 

HCAU: What was a huge turning point for you and MEANS? 

MB: Either meeting Grant or winning the GW New Venture Competition. 

HCAU: What has been your proudest moment to date?

MB: Getting a call from a food pantry director who was crying on the phone. I initially thought something terrible had happened, but she explained that she had read about us and was overwhelmed by the idea that she and her fellow volunteers might be able to get more food to their clients without impacting their very small budget. “Don’t you know how much good this will do?” she asked. (I started crying pretty quickly too.) 

HCAU: What did you do when you first found out you were a L’Oreal Women of Worth nominee? 

MB: Screamed so loud my roommate thought someone died. 

HCAU: What’s a hobby that you have that isn’t related to saving the world? (You’re mortal like the rest of us, right?)

MB: I like to write music. 

HCAU: Where do you see yourself in ten years? 

MB: Running MEANS or running an Emergency Department as an attending physician. Maybe married, maybe kids, definitely a puppy or five. 

HCAU: What’s a piece of advice you have for someone working at a non-profit or even looking to start one? 

MB: Work hard. Drink coffee. Find a team who loves what you do as much as you do, and love them as much as you love the work. Anything else? Naps. Naps are good.

All photos courtesy of Maria Rose Belding