The purpose of food recovery initiatives is to redirect food waste, that would otherwise end up in the landfill, to food insecure populations. About 40% of the food produced on farms in the U.S. ends up in the landfill, producing toxic methane gases. Much of that food waste is serviceable surplus food (think: batch food in school cafeterias!).

Meanwhile, 1 in 7 Americans faces some degree of food insecurity, many of whom do not qualify for assistance programs such as SNAP. Alison is currently working with about 40 schools, universities, hospitals and continuing care retirement facilities to redirect their wasted food (food recovery initiatives also include composting actual food waste). To date, the redirected surplus food generates about 30,000 meals/year being made available to those in need; the potential (of the communities with whom she is working) is upwards of 100,000 meals/year.

She is also preparing to publish a website this summer - FoodForth - which will address a multitude of food-related issues, from sustainable farming of our food, to food waste in America - and what to do about it - to optimizing the nutritional value of the food we eat. Through her work, and through foodforth.com, Alison hope to raise awareness about food waste, heighten appreciation for the food we have, and empower people to reduce food waste and food insecurity.