Finding ways to increase access to fresh produce has been a part of the operation since the early days. In 2001, AmeriCorps service member Rosemary Randolph started nine gardens in multiple Iowa City neighborhoods. These gardens grew 2,000 pounds of produce during the growing season.
In recent years, T2T has partnered with local farmers to harvest produce remaining in their fields – referred to as “gleaning.” “I knew that would be a really good fit for me—working outdoors to rescue food with a great group of people,” says Karen Jackson, T2T volunteer.
Gardeners are also encouraged to donate their excess homegrown fruits and vegetables to T2T or even “grow a row” to donate.
The bounty one produce stand participant shared.
With increased fresh produce from gleaning and garden donations, T2T organizes neighborhood Free Produce Stands in partnership with local pantries and neighborhood centers, reducing barriers to fresh produce access. “We can harvest hundreds of pounds in a day and then distribute it for people to have fresh food on their tables that night,” Karen says.
Last summer, a recipient sent us a note that read, “I just wanted to let you know those tomatoes made 149 cups of blanched chunks to make lots of soup and sauces for lasagnas and spaghetti for the 18 people we share homemade food with.”
Currently each week, T2T picks up thousands of pounds of surplus food from local warehouses, UNFI and US Foods. Now accounting for 31% of the food we rescue, this food isn’t even short-dated and serves as a source for more organic, gluten-free, and vegetarian foods.
Getting this program up and running didn’t happen on its own. Picking food up at this scale would require several trips in our smaller transit vans, so in the early days, John’s Crane let T2T use a 16-ft. truck weekly for free. When T2T outgrew that truck, we moved to renting a large truck twice a week to pick up warehouse donations.
In 2017, staff David Wellendorf and Emily Meister developed a partnership and with a significant donation from Frontier Natural Products were able to lease a dedicated 22-ft. refrigerated truck. Since then, this truck has made more than 350 trips transporting nearly three million pounds of food.
On a Wednesday in mid-September 2017, a call came into the office. On the line was a food transport driver: “I have a truck full of yogurt that was just declined by the customer.” Why? “It wasn’t what they ordered.” How much is a truck full? In this case, eight pallets – nearly 9,000 16-oz. containers. Not only that, but this yogurt’s sell by date was still six-eight weeks away. What a windfall and a scramble to deliver it all!
Several times a year we get a call from a driver with a rejected load. We have to be prepared to accept it immediately, or else it’s more expedient for the driver to dump it at the landfill. Thanks to a partnership with Lineage Logistics donating cold warehouse space starting in 2020, we can say yes to most of these calls. Lineage accepts the donation on our behalf, giving us time to plan distribution logistics on a schedule that is most helpful to partner agencies. By finding ways to accept these offers, we’ve recovered chicken, oranges, Brussels sprouts, beef, milk, and more.
“We decided we’d roast a batch of coffee each week to donate. Frank Lalor would come by each week to pick it up,” says Steve Dunham, coffee crafter at Cafe del Sol of Iowa City. That was 1996. Over the past 25 years, Cafe del Sol has continued to donate fresh coffee batches to Table to Table, not only to distribute to recipient partners, but also to share with volunteers and staff, fueling them for the day’s food rescue routes.
“When we see volunteers and staff out in the community, we always say thank you. You’re providing a valuable service to the community,” Steve says. “What an impact you all are making on redirecting these resources.
“Coffee is the one commodity that we’re able to donate,” Steve adds. So they do.
What drew Lynette Richards to Table to Table? “The fact that food can be on people’s plates that same day.” Lynette volunteered rescuing food in the late 1990s and served on T2T’s Board of Directors until she moved away from Iowa City in the early 2000s. “It was one of the hardest things to leave behind,” she says.
Lynette’s Honda Passport was her food rescue mobile: “I’d fill it up, I’d give away all the food, then I’d finish picking up more food. Sometimes I would come back with nearly a ton in total.”
A preschooler enjoys a full meal from that day’s T2T food deliveries.
“I would go to Eagles Grocery, Blooming Prairie, Bruegger’s Bagels, New Pioneer Food Co-op, sometimes Hy-Vee, and sometimes the University food service. We would drop food off at United Action for Youth, Domestic Violence Intervention Program, preschool programs, and homeless shelters,” she remembers. T2T didn’t have any refrigerated storage at the time, so, “We had to find a place to deliver what we collected that day. We couldn’t bring anything back.” To this day we only have the equivalent of six household refrigerators of cold storage because we aim to get the food out as quickly as possible.
“At T2T you get food from a variety of places, so when you put it together, you can make a healthy meal. It’s very usable,” Lynette continues. “You get excited when you get one food donation because it goes with something else you got, and it will make a nice meal for somebody.”
“This has given me a look into how much food is being rescued and how much the need is,” says Rajni Vijh, a current T2T volunteer. Rajni began volunteering in September 2020 on a food rescue route. “We got 3,000 pounds of food,” she remembers about her very first day. “I remember telling everybody, ‘This is my first time and we have saved so much food from being wasted.’ We were just packed to the brim!”
When an injury kept Rajni from food rescue on routes, she wanted to know other ways she could help. She’s taken on an array of roles. She prepares the fleet for routes and keeps a food-safe environment in the warehouse. She takes on data entry and office tasks.
In addition, she joined the software committee to help advise on procuring new software to track volunteers, donations, and route schedules. She adds, “All my life I’ve been in IT, so that’s close to my heart.”
Next she wants to learn more about gleaning in farm fields. “I’m a ‘whole picture’ person,” she says of helping in so many areas. So, she also recently joined the Board of Directors.
“In general, my nature is to help. This fits right into my mission: help where the need is,” she continues. “I’m really passionate about what I do here. I think everybody believes in the cause.”
Photo (above): Rajni did get in on a few gleans before the harvest season was over! She poses here with Nora, T2T gleaning coordinator, and their freshly-harvested squash at Trowel & Error Farm in Iowa City.
“My AmeriCorps experience helped me broaden my awareness of the multitude of resources present and those still needed in our community,” says Andrew Winkers, who served part of his AmeriCorps service term with T2T when his service in Iowa City Community Schools was interrupted by the pandemic. Andrew was the first AmeriCorps service member to join the T2T team in 2020 and opened the door to an invaluable resource. In the past three years, AmeriCorps members have supported food rescue operations, implemented a new software system, trained volunteers in safety and equity, expanded access to fresh, local produce, and more!
Andrew was impacted by “seeing how far reaching Table to Table’s food rescue activism connects and sustains the community by making resources available that would otherwise go to waste.” Andrew adds, “And the importance of seeking connections to build a community that cares.”
“There’s so many ways we work together that I truly don’t think we would function without this partnership,” says CommUnity [formerly The Crisis Center of Johnson County] Manager Krystal Kabela.
CommUnity provides groceries for 700-900 local households weekly. What does Table to Table’s partnership mean for CommUnity, in one word? Krystal and CommUnity Warehouse Coordinator Matt Himschoot respond in unison: “Food!” CommUnity is the biggest food distribution organization in Johnson County, and, “Table to Table provides a large amount of our fresh ready-to-eat meals, produce, and bread,” says Matt.
Half of the food CommUnity distributes in our county comes through T2T. “We wouldn’t operate on the same scale without Table to Table, nor as ‘cheaply,’” Krystal says. Food recovered from retail can be a huge resource for food pantries, but it takes a lot of logistics and resources to collect it each day, and then a different set of resources to distribute it to our neighbors. That’s why T2T was founded with partners like CommUnity in mind, and our partnerships are critical, so each organization can focus on what they do best.
Each year, CommUnity connects more than a million pounds of T2T’s rescued food to our neighbors. They do that through a combination of a groceryshopping-model food pantry, home delivery from their food bank, and a mobile pantry that hosts distribution events in 11 neighborhoods in Johnson County.
We continue to find ways to collaborate. After T2T added a 22-ft. truck to our food rescue fleet, T2T volunteers began to pick up CommUnity’s weekly food orders from the food reservoir in Hiawatha. “It’s not as easy to make that happen without T2T’s partnership,” says Krystal.
“T2T has come to CommUnity’s aid on more than one occasion. They were absolute lifesavers when the derecho hit and took out the power. Without their refrigerated truck, we would have lost thousands of pounds of food from our coolers and freezers,” Director of Development Julia Winter remembers.
Last year in preparation for CommUnity’s annual Project Holiday, which delivers holiday meals to 1,500 local families, arrangements for a large truck to pick up frozen meat fell through at the last minute. Matt called T2T, somewhat in a state of desperation. T2T staff said: “No problem; come get the truck.”
“Had that not been available to us, we would have been in trouble. Project Holiday may not have existed in the manner that it did,” Krystal says.
This summer, the food rescue work at T2T has outpaced our current vehicle resources, so CommUnity has shared their van with us so we don’t miss any opportunity.
As Julia concludes, “We are so grateful to share walls and a mission with T2T! Our neighboring spaces are mutually beneficial and ensure we’re able to get food to the people who need it most. Our partnership is closer than ever and we’re excited to see where the future takes us.”
Benny Hawkins, Sr., a former Table to Table food rescue route volunteer, passed away on August 31 at the age of 91.
Benny Hawkins, beloved T2T volunteer, rescued food on his weekly Wednesday route until the age of 89. Known for his warm conversations and genuine interest in the folks he met, we looked forward to seeing him every week and hearing stories from his decades of travel, sense of humor, and hugs.
Benny began volunteering on his weekly food rescue route in 2016. His longtime route partner, Bryan Clemons, remembers his friendship with Benny fondly:
“It was a pleasure to work with Benny when we were volunteers at T2T. Because we had known each other for years as dental colleagues, we had many things to talk about. We both had served as officers in the U.S. Air Force, and that gave us even more common ground.
I was usually the driver on our food rescue route, and it was easy to get so involved in our conversations that I could miss a turn. Fortunately, Benny was always gracious in redirecting me, and then we enjoyed a good chuckle.
Benny was a man who was kind to everyone he met. He had a great sense of humor and was quick to see the funny side of any situation and flash his wonderful smile. He had definite political opinions and was willing to discuss them if you asked, but he did not try to push his views on you.
Benny loved to have a good conversation with people of all ages while volunteering at T2T.
Several years ago, Iowa Public Television asked for permission to do a short documentary about the mission of Table to Table. They interviewed Emily [Meister, T2T Program Manager at the time], and she requested that a videographer go on a route to show what happened when food was being rescued. Benny and I were chosen as the team to record. We became ‘immediate IPTV stars,’ and Benny reveled in that ‘honor’ with a twinkle in his eye.
We were both sad to leave T2T when Covid-19 became a problem. However, we continued to see each other and share stories during the Wednesday morning retired dentists’ coffee hour after we had received our vaccinations.
Everyone who knew Benny was fortunate to have Benny call them a friend.”
Benny always joined T2T for MidWestOne Bank’s Rock the Chalk event.
Executive Director, Nicki Ross, remembers his kindness and welcome when she began in 2017. Shortly after starting she and the program manager were asked to present at a regional food recovery conference, the first big audience for either of them. Benny offered to be an audience of one in run-throughs of the presentation, keeping it light and offering kind and helpful feedback. “When we faced our big audience, it was Benny’s face I pictured. His support made me a better public speaker and presenter of the T2T mission,” Nicki remembers. “He also joined us for every MidwestOne Bank Rock the Chalk – getting down on the pavement to color in the designs or holding and entertaining my 5 month old while we worked. Benny was a gem and we will miss him dearly.”
“Benny epitomized the best of everything as a T2T volunteer and as a human being,” T2T volunteer Steve Gallagher adds. “I’m so glad I became acquainted, however briefly. He had a kind, gentle, warm aura and people loved him. The world lost a beautiful human being in him.”
In the archives
We found Benny’s volunteer spotlight from a few years back:
What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with Table to Table? Interesting people I have worked with.
Do you volunteer at other area organizations? If so, where? Formerly, Meals on Wheels for four years.
Benny enjoyed welcoming Mandela Fellows visiting Table to Table with Council for International Visitors to Iowa Cities in 2018.
What is/was your occupation? Dentist, Periodontist, Faculty Dental College.
What are your hobbies? I enjoy word puzzles.
What’s a fun fact you’d like to share about yourself? Lived in seven states, including England during my Air Force career.
Where are you from? Originally Chattanooga, Tennessee.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? My oatmeal and fruit breakfast.
The Love Food, Fight Waste program is switching things up for our September topic! We brought you a free, in-person film screening (Sept. 2) of the movie, Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story, in partnership with Summer of the Arts.
Love Food, Fight Waste is keeping the film discussion going throughout the month of September!
If you missed the film screening, you can watch the full movie at the link below. Consider the below discussion questions as you watch the film.
Discussion Questions to Consider:
Littering is considered taboo. Why is wasting food generally acceptable?
Retailers often respond to consumer habits – for example, when they cull produce that has a unique shape or a small blemish, believing that consumers won’t buy “ugly” produce. What other habits and preferences do you recognize in yourself or consumers in general that determine how retailers operate? How can we make changes that will lead to less food waste?
Should organizations face consequences for unnecessary food waste? On the flip side, should organizations be paid an incentive for avoiding food waste? What effects do you think a policy like this would have?
The film points out that the last time the U.S. Government ran a large campaign against wasting food, it was during WWII. Food for thought: does our country have to be in crisis for society to think about resource utilization?
Were you surprised to learn that the majority of food waste takes place in homes? What takeaways did this movie provide in terms of changing your own habits?
Film Description
From Peg Leg Films, filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant dive into the issue of food waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping and survive only on discarded food. What they find is truly shocking.
Benny Hawkins, Sr., a former Table to Table food rescue route volunteer, passed away on August 31 at the age of 91.
