Plum library, schools team with 412 Food Rescue to get leftovers to needy residents

Pam Fauls heard about the 412 Food Rescue program long before the coronavirus put people out of work and caused prices to skyrocket because of shutdowns and short supplies.

But it wasn’t until restrictions on in-person gatherings were lifted that she was able to launch a program in her own community.

“I thought it was a wonderful idea, and it got me thinking that there certainly are people in our community who could use the help,” said Fauls, 60, of Plum.

“My son works two jobs to support his wife and three children, so I know that even if you’re working it can be a struggle,” she said.

Fauls said she was at an event several years ago when she first heard about 412 Food Rescue’s efforts to keep leftover food from restaurants and other facilities from going to waste by collecting and distributing it to those in need.

But it wasn’t until the coronavirus shutdown started causing a financial pinch for so many people that she sprung into action.

“I got in touch with 412 Food Rescue about starting a program in Plum and they were on board,” she said. “I went through their food safety program and approached the school district to see if they could help us.”

Plum’s director of food service Jessica Griggle said the district first began working with 412 Food Rescue shortly after she started working in the position in 2017.

“I noticed that we had a lot of food waste so I reached out to them and they agreed to pick up our leftovers and take them to homeless shelters,” she said.

The food was collected by placing boxes at the exit to the cafeterias for students to deposit items they didn’t consume.

The food is still collected that way, but now it is used to help people in Plum, she said.

Griggle said the food that is donated is not the result of too much being ordered. Rather its the food that students place on their trays at mealtime but don’t eat, she said.

“The nutritional guidelines require that the meals have certain components, like fresh fruit,” she said. “But the students don’t have to eat it just because it’s on their trays.”

Library Director Pam Calfo said she, too, had some prior experience dealing with 412 Food Rescue by participating in its “Ugly CSA” program, which sells boxes of fresh produce and other food items that are slightly blemished but otherwise fine to eat.

Proceeds from the food boxes that are sold is used to support 412 Food Rescue programs.

“When Pam Fauls asked us about using the library as a pickup location for the food being donated I thought it was a wonderful way to help the community,” she said. “Everyone knows the library and it’s centrally located. We also have a wide range of people who come here, so it just makes sense.”

Every Thursday morning Fauls stops at each of the district’s four elementary school buildings and jams boxes of leftover food into her tiny Mazda and takes it to the library, where it is stored and put out as needed for people to take.

The half dozen large boxes she recently picked up while making the rounds were filled to the brim with hundreds of prepackaged single-serving items including milk — white and chocolate — and a variety of fruit juices, cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt and snacks.

The perishable items are checked to be sure they are not expired and stored in a large refrigerator the library purchased and a pair of dorm-sized units, including one in the building’s lobby.

“We fill the one in the lobby with several of whatever items we have so that people can simply come in and take what they need,” Calfo said. “There’s no need to sign up or anything like that. We just don’t want to see this food go to waste.”

Calfo said the food is a available for pickup throughout the week during regular hours.

Fauls said a people have been responding positively to the program even though it has not been widely advertised.

“A notice about the program was posted on the (library) website but it’s mostly been word of mouth,” she said. “We’ve had families, individuals and seniors participate, so I think the need is there. And we’ll keep trying to fill that need as long as it exists and we have the food to give out.”

Leland Scales, 412 Food Rescue’s nonprofit partner manager, said the program in Plum could serve as a blueprint for other districts.

“It is a pleasure working with Pam and her team to make sure the surplus food feeds people that need it,” Scales said. “This model of partnering with school districts and local libraries that very often come across the same students could be replicated in other districts.”

Scales said the organization always is seeking volunteers for its programs to “further our mission in all of the neighborhoods and counties we serve.”

Information about joining their cause can be viewed on the nonprofit organization’s website.