The Bearcats Pantry Food Recovery Network

Abstract

By Ahmed Ashraf, Medical Sciences; Abbi Wells, Medical Sciences; Seth Reichenbach, Architectural Engineering

Advisor: Francis Russell

Abstract: In collaboration with UC Forward our class was tasked, by the Kroger Zero Hunger Zero Waste organization, to create a system to reduce hunger and food waste in Cincinnati. Before a proposal could be created, research was collected surrounding food waste, food recovery, and food insecurity. The time spent on research provided as the foundation to build our proposal upon. After the initial research phase, the focus to reduce both food waste and food insecurity at the University of Cincinnati was produced. From here our project conjecture was developed and more research was done on food waste and insecurity occuring at UC. It was proposed that if a reliable collection and distribution system is put in place to divert potential food waste from nearby sources to the Bearcats Pantry and Little Sisters of the Poor, then the quantity of food recovered will increase and the number of hungry UC students should decrease. From this, the Bearcats Pantry Food Recovery Network was developed. This network utilizes UC student volunteers to transport recovered food, using backpacks, to the Bearcats Pantry and Little Sisters of the Poor. With the goal of implementations, it is our hope that the work produced through this class will create an impact on both food waste and food insecurity at the University of Cincinnati.