Nanda Filkin's environmental mission saves food, helps local pantries

Ohio University alumna Nanda Filkin is a scientist by day and an environmentally conscious volunteer by night, swooping in to local restaurants, hospitals, hotels, and stores to save badly needed food from destruction.

Since she co-founded the Athens Food Rescue seven years ago, she has helped save more than 215,000 pounds of food from entering the landfill by diverting it to local food pantries and churches that provide meals to area residents.

Now she's the new executive director of Athens Food Rescue, still finding time between job and family to donate many hours picking up food and taking it where it's needed.

"Nationally at least one in six people is hungry, but about 30 percent of the food is wasted," Filkin said. "In Athens food insecurity is even worse. As the poorest county in Ohio, it is a serious problem. Athens Food Rescue helps to provide some food to fill this gap by providing good food to area food pantries and food kitchens that can then be provided to local families in need."

Filkin, a product scientist at Quidel, co-founded the food rescue in 2015 with co-worker Teresa Curtiss and two other area women, Adele Hanson and Susan Jago.

The rescue team continued food pickup and delivery throughout the pandemic, and despite rising food prices Filkin said donations have remained relatively constant. On a yearly basis, Athens Food Rescue saves approximately 35,000 pounds of food.

"Because we do not deal directly with the public, it is hard to assess whether or not the demand has increased, but there is still at least one free meal per day in the Athens area served by local churches and food pantries. During the pandemic it was harder to have in-person meals, but kitchens were able to make meals for families to take home," said Filkin, who earned an M.S. in Plant Biology from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2003.

"If someone is interested in getting involved with Athens Food Rescue, we are always in need of more volunteers. Volunteers would help pick up and deliver food or help with our website, fundraisers or social media campaigns," she said. "If they want to play a role in reducing food waste, people should become more mindful of what they are wasting and make sure they are only buying what they can use. Reach out to us at athensfoodrescue@gmail.com."

Q&A with Alumna Nanda Filkin

Q: What has been your greatest success/achievement in your career? 

A: My biggest achievement in my career has been learning to adapt to changes in my career. I started off thinking I would be a stream biologist conducting studies on environmental conditions of area streams in southeast Ohio. Instead I am working at Quidel helping to develop diagnostic tools to help people diagnose and treat diseases. It has also been an achievement to be able to balance my work life, passions for food rescue, cycling, running and the love of the outdoors, and spending time with my husband, two kids and dog.

Q: What path did you follow to get where you are today? 

After graduating from OHIO with a master's in environmental and plant biology in 2003, I applied for jobs all over the country and ended up across the street in the Biological Sciences Department at Ohio University. My first position was as a lab technician helping Dr. Janet Duerr set up her lab studying the model organism C. elegans (soil nematode). I worked with her for almost six years before getting another position as OHIO in the Biomedical Sciences Department as a research associate with Dr. Frank Horodyski studying the nervous system of another model organism, Manduca sexta (Tobacco hornworm caterpillar).

After almost 10 years of working for OHIO, I decided to move and start a position outside of academia. That is when I ended up at Quidel as a scientist in the R&D department. I helped develop molecular assays before moving into another position in the Cell Culture department, where I help develop cell-based diagnostics. I have worked at Quidel for almost 10 years and feel like I have really made a positive impact.

Q: Who were your favorite professors and how did they make an impact on your life?

A: My favorite professor at OHIO was Dr. Morgan Vis. Not only was she a wonderful advisor and mentor, she was very supportive and hard-working. She taught me good work ethic and a passion for science and teaching that I didn't have before moving to Athens. I am very thankful for the two years that I spent in her lab. I hope to be able to pass this passion on to other young scientists.

Q: What was your ah-ha moment at OHIO — that point where you said to yourself, “I’ve got this!”? 

A: The moment I arrived on campus, I knew I was in the right place. I loved all of my classes. I was passionate and focused on my research, and I love this area — the people, the terrain, the beauty, etc.

Q: What was the hardest hill you had to climb (not counting Jeff Hill) at OHIO? 

A: The hardest obstacle I had to overcome was shifting gears from working in an outside field to laboratory work in an academic setting and then to commercial laboratory work. I work now in a clean room bubble without windows, which is about as far removed from the streams of southeast Ohio. But I love it nonetheless.

Q: What are your favorite OHIO memories? 

A: I miss walking around uptown during uptown festivals and when summer vacation starts and the streets become empty. After graduation, it never really feels the same.

Q: What’s the one thing you would tell a new OHIO student not to miss? 

A: Don't miss out on venturing out of the city center and exploring the hills around Athens. Sells Park, Strouds Run, Baileys Trail, etc. There is so much to explore.

See more stories about plant biology alumni.