The theme of the George Washington University’s Earth Month 2013 celebration is “What Can You Do?” with activities and events designed to highlight the many concrete ways that GW community members can get involved in sustainability efforts. But for first-year medical student Najeff Waseem, that question is one he’s already pondered at great length—and answered.
Mr. Waseem started a GW chapter of the Food Recovery Network, a national organization that unites students at colleges and universities to fight food waste and hunger at the same time. The network works with university dining facilities to collect surplus perishable food and deliver it immediately to organizations and charities that serve hungry people.
FRN was founded at the University of Maryland, where Mr. Waseem earned an undergraduate degree in psychology. The idea, he explained, is to take fresh, perishable food that would otherwise end up in landfills and divert it to people who need it. Each year, Americans throw out more than 35 million tons of food, and only 3 percent of this food is composted. That means the rest takes up space in landfills and emits harmful greenhouse gasses.
At GW, Mr. Waseem worked with Sodexo, the university’s main dining services vendor, to craft an agreement under which Sodexo will donate food after student volunteers complete a safe food-handling course to learn how to properly transport the leftover food and ensure it remains at the correct temperature. Using insulated bags similar to pizza-delivery cases, the food is then taken directly to community partners like Gospel Rescue Ministries. So far, the George Washington FRN group has done two “recoveries,” involving about 15 student volunteers. Mr. Waseem hopes to also eventually organize a group of volunteers who could quickly mobilize after any Sodexo-catered event at which there is surplus food.
“We’re eliminating waste, and, of course, the food itself isn’t waste—it can be given to people who need it,” Mr. Waseem said. “It’s a question of distribution. So many people around us don’t have food. This is a sustainable solution.”
GW’s Office of Sustainability will highlight many other sustainable solutions during its annual Earth Day fair, which will be held on April 26 in Kogan Plaza. It will feature information about the university’s new minor in sustainability, GW’s Solar Decathlon team, and how the GW community can work toward its goal of zero waste on campus.
Director of the Office of Sustainability Meghan Chapple-Brown said other Earth Month events will focus on the effects of climate change, including a lecture on April 25 by John Englander, whose book, “High Tide On Main Street: Rising Sea Level and the Coming Coastal Crisis,” was published one week before Hurricane Sandy. The event will include a discussion of the problem of rising waters and increasingly strong storms.
"GW as an institution is taking great strides to address the pressing problem of climate change by building greener buildings, offering the new sustainability minor and training student leaders as eco-reps,” said Ms. Chapple-Brown. “I hope that students, faculty and staff across the university will join us on Earth Day to learn more about how they can help make a healthy and thriving planet for future generations."
Students and alumni interested in sustainability-related careers can attend a Green Alumni event on May 1 at Alumni House. The event will feature remarks from George Washington alumni working in the sustainability field and informal discussions about internships, job searching and networking.
View an entire listing of GW’s Earth Month activities.
To get involved with GW’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, email gwufrn
gmail [dot] com (gwufrn[at]gmail[dot]com).