OHIO donates large amount of food to Athens Food Rescue

OHIO donated about 1,600 pounds of food to the Athens Food Rescue (AFR) over Thanksgiving break to benefit charities who feed the hungry.

AFR is an all-volunteer group that aims to increase waste food diversion by collecting leftover food and transporting it to associated non-profit organizations. OHIO Culinary Services Executive Director Frank Pazzanese said AFR works to organize regularly scheduled food pickups. Culinary Services donates to Athens Food Rescue, which then distributes to other groups in need, Pazzanese said.

Each Culinary venue has an assigned contact person from AFR to set up the pickups. There are also end-of-semester pickups that are too large for AFR storage and require the help of other food banks to distribute the produce. Several charities throughout Athens County received food donations.

• The Bishopville Food Pantry received more than 600 pounds from West 82 and Jefferson Marketplace.
• The Feed My Sheep Pantry received more than 400 pounds from Boyd Dining Hall and Boyd Market.
• The Nelsonville Food Cupboard received 95 pounds from The Front Room Coffeehouse.
• Friends and Neighbors Community Choice Food Center of Coolville received almost 500 pounds from Nelson Dining Hall and Nelson Market.

“Too many people do not get enough to eat, and we play at least a partial role in delivering food to pantries and other agencies which serve those in need,” AFR volunteer Fred Kight said.

OHIO has been a long-standing supporter of AFR. In early 2017, AFR approached OHIO’S Office of Sustainability with a request to rescue food on campus from dining facilities and other food venues. AFR Executive Director Teresa Curtiss and Vice President/Food Safety Trainer Adele Hanson met with representatives from that office and Culinary Services. The result was a pilot program started with dining halls.

Hanson said rescuing surplus food on campus started with largely breads and foods that required no refrigeration. Most of the food was frozen for best quality. Dining hall managers designated surplus products that could be donated. The food was stored so volunteers could pick it up weekly. Additional dining halls, markets, and cafes were added as time passed.

“I think any time you can help support individuals in need in any community, it makes us all stronger,” Pazzanese said.

Kight said volunteers sign up for weekly shifts and work those shifts by going to various donor places around Athens County to pick up food. The volunteers deliver the food to the organizations AFR collaborates with.

“Our volunteers make it happen day in and day out,” Kight said. “They give their time and effort, not to mention absorbing the cost of gasoline for all the miles that are driven.”

Anyone interested in learning more about AFR or volunteering can visit https://www.athensfoodrescue.com/get-involved/. All volunteers receive training in food safety and handling.