Spring 2022 Community Food Rescue E-Newsletter

Spring 2022

Our clocks are not the only thing that springs ahead this time of year. Meet new CFR Coordinator Annarose Kennedy; see how 350 lbs. of late winter arugula was saved from the compost pile; and learn how Montgomery County Public Schools plans to tackle food waste. Read on to learn more.

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Meet Annarose Kennedy, Our new CFR Coordinator

Hello everyone! My name is Annarose Kennedy, and I have recently started working for Manna Food Center as the new Community Food Rescue Coordinator. I am very excited to be working with a team of amazing and passionate people who collectively want to continue fighting food insecurity in Montgomery County.

I will focus on supporting current community food rescue members, conducting outreach for new members, and administering the Farm to Food Bank program.

This Arugula was Saved from the Compost Pile

Winter arugula retails for $12 per pound, but the crop could have been a total loss for One Acre Farm, located in Dickerson, Maryland. Fortunately, this story ends well, and the prized spicy, leafy green ended up on dinner plates rather than in the compost pile, thanks to two Community Food Rescue (CFR) network members.

In mid-March, the farm’s crop of arugula had bolted, and while the leaves were still delicious, they would now have to be stripped from the thick central stalks, a very labor-intensive process. The time and labor required did not make sense economically. “That is why working with organizations like Community Food Rescue is so important. CFR and our farm worked together to make use of this crop,” Charlotte Henderson of One Acre Farm explained.

Reimaging Food Waste at Montgomery County Public Schools

What started as a student-led environmental initiative to reduce food waste in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has grown into the Coalition to ReImagine School Waste. Building on an initial pilot program, the effort is poised to expand to all MCPS schools and has the potential to reach all public schools in Maryland.

Students from Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Richard Montgomery High Schools started by conducting a waste-sort study in a few schools. "We see so much food being thrown away every day at school,” says Ethan Weiss, BCC HS senior. “At the same time, we know how many hungry families are living in Montgomery County. We knew more could be done to make things better, not just for the climate but for our community!"