Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo:  Josh Reynolds for the Boston Globe.
From left, Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Sofia Hennessy, 17, Julianne Jang, 15, and Arrianna Sun, 17 carry donated boxes of food from college dining halls.

Today’s article about civic-minded teens addressing the problem of food waste makes me feel both admiration and guilt. Although I’m proud of composting our uneaten food, I know we waste more more than we should. The portions at my retirement community are large, and I haven’t yet done what some other residents do, which is ask for half portions of certain things.

Katarina Schmeiszer writes at the Boston Globe about teens that pick up good but unused food and donate it to people experiencing food insecurity.

“On a crisp evening in November, Arianna Sun and Sofia Hennessy stepped inside the Dunkin’ [Donuts] on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. The bell jingled, and they were greeted by two workers who recognized them and immediately grabbed a bag of food. Unlike the other customers, Sun and Hennessy weren’t stopping in for a quick snack; they were collecting food to bring to a local church down the street.

“Growing up, Sun learned never to waste food.

Her grandfather lived in China during the Great Chinese Famine, she said, and he witnessed extreme hunger and starvation.

“ ‘He would always make sure at the dinner table [that] I finished every last grain, and that’s something that I think is really instilled in me,’ Sun said.

“His words inspired her to volunteer at First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain in 2022, where she cooked meals twice a week. Along the way, she made a startling discovery: community businesses tossing out unsold goods at the end of the day. … ‘There was just perfectly fine food being thrown away on the same exact street, so I wanted to try to do something about that,’ she said.

“Sun and Hennessy, both 17, are seniors at Boston Latin School. Their campaign against food waste began when they were sophomores. The pair asked local businesses to give them the food instead of throwing it out at the end of the night. They first approached Dunkin’ on Centre Street and then The Real Deal, a family-owned restaurant. And with those willing partners, NoVasta, Latin for ‘no waste, was born.

“It started out as a small school club whose members volunteer to collect food waste from local businesses and bring it to a drop-off center, such as the church. The club also organizes food drives and raises money to buy items in bulk from wholesalers like Costco.

“Over the past two years, NoVasta has become part of the national Zero Waste Coalition. Club chapters have been started at other US schools and abroad. …

” ‘It’s given us a lot of hope to see that even though it’s such a big problem, there are a lot of people — whether it’s students or city councilors or people our age or restaurants — that are willing to work and find ways to contribute to this cause,’ Hennessy said. …

“The growing problem prompted Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata and others to propose an ordinance in 2023 to create a citywide food recovery program. … Zapata has been working with Sun and Hennessy to try to implement a city-wide food recovery program, which would be established with the ordinance that councilors are working to pass. …

“Through online forums and social media, Sun and Hennessy were able to connect with other high schoolers who noticed the same patterns in their communities: food going to waste while people were going hungry. …

” ‘Every single student we talked to noticed the same issue in their own city, and they’ve sort of just been waiting for a catalyst to start it.’ “

More at the Globe, here.