Join the Team! AmeriCorps Summer Positions
AmeriCorps VISTA Food Rescue Specialist
Position Summary:
The AmeriCorps Food Rescue Specialist will contribute to the hunger relief efforts in Johnson County by supporting the daily function of the food rescue program and its volunteers in a friendly and fast-paced environment. This person will be part of the team directing volunteers and actualizing smooth pick-up and delivery of food donations, and preparing T2T’s fleet of vehicles for food rescue routes. This position may also participate in the gleaning (harvesting) of excess produce from farms and gardens as well as getting the food to food-insecure individuals via pop-up free produce stands and other efforts with partner agencies. T2T serves as the hub for 60% of the food distributed by Johnson County’s hunger relief network. The best candidate is an energetic team player with strong communication skills who enjoys interacting with people of diverse ages and backgrounds.
Read more about member benefits here.
Table to Table AmeriCorps Food Rescue Specialist 2021-2022
Schedule and Duration:A full time 8 week position June 27 – Aug. 21, 2022
Weekdays 8AM to 4PM with some flexibility. Some weekends, evenings required.
Required: Willing to consent to an AmeriCorps background check.
Preferred but not required: Over 21 with a valid driver’s license and good driving record.
Supervision Given By: The Food Rescue Specialist is supervised by the T2T Program Manager and is part of a team including the T2T Program Coordinator and Program Assistant.
If you’re interested in this AmeriCorps position, please submit your resume to Allison Gnade at Table to Table via email: allison@table2table.org
About AmeriCorps
Being an AmeriCorps member is about making a tangible difference for communities and individuals dealing with some of our nation’s biggest challenges: poverty, inequity, homelessness, and lack of access to education. Summer AmeriCorps members help organizations with activities that work to alleviate the effects of poverty all across the country. As an AmeriCorps member you will serve in a project identified and managed by the community while earning a modest living allowance that reflects the income level of the community where you’re serving.
Know your Best By, Use By, & Sell By dates
If you’ve ever wondered — “What does this ‘sell by’ date mean on my jug of milk? Can I still use it in my breakfast cereal, or is it past the point of no return?” — you are not alone.
The Bottom Line
Manufacturers want grocers to turn their product. Grocers don’t want returns or complaints on food that’s lost some of its “ooomf”. Consumers want some guidance on how long their food will be good. All of these are reasons for offering food dates, but it may not be a reason for throwing food away.
According to USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (Source: USDA):
- “A “Best if Used By/Before” date indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.
- A “Sell-By” date tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management. It is not a safety date.
- A “Use-By” date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. It is not a safety date except for when used on infant formula
- A “Freeze-By” date indicates when a product should be frozen to maintain peak quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.”
The common theme in these definitions is that these are not safety dates. The only food item where the date should be strictly followed is baby formula. Except for baby formula, most dates are indicators of best flavor and peak quality. So, use your judgment and senses, and use this month’s Love Food, Fight Waste information as a guide.
These guidelines indicate number of days after date on package an unopened item may be okay to eat:
- Dairy:
- Eggs: 1 month
- Milk: 7 days
- Yogurt: 7 days
- Shredded cheese: 2 weeks
- Block cheese: 3 months
- Grocery:
- Baking mixes: 1 year
- Canned goods: 1-2 years
- Cereal: 6-12 months
- Chips: 2 months
- Juices: 3 weeks
- Sauces: 1 year
The above are guidelines only.
After you’ve read up on “best by,” “use by,” and “sell by” dates, check the dates on the food in your own fridge. Can you organize your fridge and pantry to prioritize those items creeping closer to expiration?
Try a few creative recipes that use up near-expiration items in a practical and safe way. Need recipe inspiration? Check out these resources:
Tips
- Freeze meat, cheese, and produce on or before “use by” date and it’s good to eat for 4-12 months.
- Keep potatoes up to 3-4 months in the fridge.
- Store produce away from onions and bananas to extend its life.
Other Resources
- Business Insider’s “What Sell-By Dates Actually Mean” (short video)
- Love Food Hate Waste Canada “Shelf Life” (interactive guide)
- USDA’s “Food Product Dating” (article)
Want to learn more? Stay tuned for June’s Love Food, Fight Waste topic, “Understand the Types of Food Waste.”
Nicki Ross Celebrates 5 Years as T2T Executive Director
T2T staff, volunteers, Board members, and partner organizations compiled this post to honor Nicki for her five years of leadership of Table to Table:
This spring marked Nicki Ross’s fifth anniversary at Table to Table! Nicki began as T2T’s Executive Director in March of 2017. Through caring leadership and a passion for finding ways to connect an abundance of nutritious food to our neighbors, Nicki has guided our organization through major increases in pounds of food rescued, a pandemic, and a relocation during the pandemic – just to name a few milestones.
During Nicki’s leadership, Table to Table has grown from rescuing 1.8 million pounds of food a year to rescuing 2.4 million pounds each year. We’ve done this by increasing our number of food rescue routes by 43% – from 35 routes each week to 50 routes a week. Hundreds of volunteers contribute to T2T’s accomplishments through rescuing food on routes, preparing our fleet, assisting with office needs, harvesting produce at local farms, planning fundraisers, and gifting their skills and talents for special projects that build T2T’s capacity to do good work for our community.
“When Nicki took the helm at Table to Table, it was already a respected, established organization, but it has risen to new heights under her leadership,” writes Charlotte Fairlie, T2T food rescue route volunteer. “The office is alive with a talented, expanding staff, whose hard work and ideas have led to new initiatives, such as last summer’s [produce] pop-ups. The network of community connections has spread, leading to an effective synergy among agencies.”
That synergy has benefited the entire Johnson County hunger relief network. Close relationships with recipient partners allow T2T to meet current needs to the best of our ability as quickly as possible. Coralville Community Food Pantry Executive Director John Boller shares: “Nicki is one of the most genuine, compassionate, and collaboration-focused nonprofit leaders that I know.”
In 2020, one result of Nicki’s collaborative efforts was the founding of the Iowa Gleaning Network to rescue farm crops and increase Iowans’ fresh produce resources. And T2T collaborations with community partners have led to produce pop-up distributions in neighborhoods to share high-nutrient foods while reducing barriers to food access. T2T has also prioritized collecting dairy, meat, and produce – valuable items for pantries – and increased those by more than 30% overall in the past five years. These efforts continued during the pandemic.
In 2020, Nicki wrote: “Letting any nutritious food go to waste at a time when some of our hunger relief partners were serving double and triple the number of people in need is simply unacceptable.” Reflecting on the first year of the pandemic: “For our neighbors enduring this health and financial crisis, T2T deliveries are the difference between families nourishing themselves with good protein, fresh fruits, and veggies or filling their bellies with food that is plentiful, cheap, and far less nutritious. During this time, T2T delivered enough food for at least one nutritious meal per day for every food insecure family in Johnson County.”
What makes Nicki a strong leader? “Her ability to have a real vision of what our organization can be, along with the ability to see and be aware of all the details that need to be addressed,” says Tom Jepson, T2T volunteer and former Board member. “I don’t know that I have come across a leader that has those two traits together.”
“It’s difficult to believe she has only been with Table to Table for 5 years–she leads like a veteran decision-maker and has guided the organization to exciting new heights in such a short amount of time,” John Boller adds.
“Also of note is the fact that Nicki was chosen as the Outstanding Executive Director by the United Way in only her second year in our community,” Tom Jepson points out.
Food rescue depends on the people behind it. “As a volunteer, I feel valued,” says Mary Kelley, who volunteers on a weekly Friday route with her husband Mike, and recently joined the Table to Table Board of Directors. Volunteers now collectively contribute 20,000 hours to T2T’s mission per year, their numbers having grown by 80% since 2017.
“Besides the statistics that provide evidence of Nicki’s success, I would add that, equally importantly, she fosters a cheerful, welcoming atmosphere in the office,” says Charlotte Fairlie. The supportive and welcoming culture Nicki has helped foster at T2T comes back to her appreciation for the T2T team of staff and volunteers.
In 2021, Nicki wrote: “Let me express one more time gratefulness for our T2T team and the staff and volunteers of all our partners who work tirelessly. Their commitment was unbowed by the sustained adversity of this year. Their work, guided by their hearts, their creativity, and courage allowed us to innovate and lead. I am incredibly proud to see them do what sometimes seems impossible.”
“Nicki constantly strives to make things better… she inspires all of us to do our best!” Mary Kelley adds.
We’d like to echo John Boller’s closing sentiment: “Here’s to another 5 years!”
Talk with Nicki and T2T staff in person at our 25th Anniversary Dinner! Ticket sales for this fundraiser help us do critical work in redistributing abundance to our neighbors. Get yours here!
Volunteer Spotlight: With humor and hard work, Marnie & Mike deliver good food
While Mike Saeugling helped stock food donations as a volunteer at CommUnity Food Bank, he regularly interacted with T2T volunteers when they made deliveries of rescued food. So after his wife, Marnie, retired, they decided rescuing food on a route together would be another great way for them to get some quality time volunteering together. We are so glad they did; we can confirm they make a great team!
Now, Mike and Marnie go on a weekly food rescue route together, but they don’t stop there. They pick up additional shifts when we need extra help, and if Marnie isn’t available, Mike will grab his friend Jim Humston to volunteer with him. They’ve helped in multiple ways with our move to Pepperwood Plaza, whether by packing up boxes or painting walls. And as you’ll read below, they really enjoy distributing veggies at produce pop-up stands during the summer and fall. It’s always fun when Mike and Marnie walk through the door to help out!
When asked about a favorite memory volunteering with T2T, Mike relayed the following story:
Late summer of 2021, my wife and I worked several produce distribution pop-up sites around the Iowa City area for T2T. On one occasion we helped to distribute produce that had been shipped from California. Along with California’s finest celery, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and carrots, were eggplants. The plump purple ovoids, familiar to the corn-fed bosom of Iowa, were boxed with a strangely svelte cultivar of that fruit (that the skinny Californian was indeed an eggplant, I would come to learn later). These strangely shaped eggplants raised many an eyebrow and question from other curious Iowans.
One can imagine my repeated consternation and embarrassment, being the official fruit and vegetable purveyor at the pop-up, the assumed on-site expert as it were (my expertise based solely on my position on the opposite side of the table), as I responded lamely, “Uh, I don’t know, never seen one before.”
Now the favorite part of the memory.
For various reasons, it seemed we couldn’t give away an eggplant wrapped in a five-dollar bill. (I must admit, although an eclectic eater, I’d pass on that half-sawbuck too. Nobody likes everything.) But, thanks to our community’s cultural diversity, the question of the oddly lean eggplant was answered. Unfortunately, my idiocy was reconfirmed by the woman who answered my query: “It’s an EGGPLANT,” she said, with the same exasperated look often seen on my wife.
We also learned from an enthusiastic woman how to soak the snot out of okra. A valuable lesson I wish my mother had learned when I was a child. (But okra’s not really a German thing, so credit my mother with at least expanding my horizons.) This woman added that in the country in which she was born, the vegetable-decongesting liquid is then repurposed to treat arthritis. Very cool.
We also shared recipes and anecdotes with numerous other folks from cultures and countries different from our own. Even cooler.
Get to know Marnie and Mike
Marnie
What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with Table to Table?
I really enjoy working the pop-ups because it gives me an opportunity to meet the people in the community.
What is one thing you would tell new T2T volunteers when they’re first starting out?
Table to Table is a great group of people to work with, and you will be part of helping your community.
What do you wish other people knew about Table to Table, food insecurity, and food waste?
Table to Table is a great, well-run organization. They do an amazing job of rescuing the tons of edible food that would otherwise be thrown in the trash and distributing it to the many wonderful organizations around town that serve our community.
What are your hobbies?
I love to do a variety of crafts (quilting, watercolors, knitting). I also love to cook.
One thing that would surprise someone to learn about me is…
I was an Explorer Scout in High School and went to NOLS ( National Outdoor Leadership School) when I was 16. Just not as outdoorsy as I got older.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
There are so many places I would like to visit. I am looking forward to the end of the pandemic and being able to safely travel. My favorite trip so far was to Croatia; it is a beautiful country.
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream (or favorite dessert)?
Anything chocolate is great, and cinnamon is a close second.
Mike
What are your hobbies?
Writing a novel. Reading. Our two dogs.
What is one of your favorite food memories?
Roasting whole hogs in the backyard. All-day fun.
One thing that would surprise someone to learn about me is…
I’ve been to El Salvador 15 times volunteering with Engineers Without Borders
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
Ireland
What do you wish other people knew about Table to Table, food insecurity, and food waste?
Fight climate change however you can. Compost everything compostable. The City of Iowa City makes it easy.
Celebrating 25 years and a new space with Open House
Table to Table is kicking off a celebration of 25 years and fundraising for construction expenses with a free to the public Open House on Thursday, February 24, from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at 1049 US-6 E, Iowa City in Pepperwood Plaza. Our celebration of 25 years is presented by MidWestOne Bank.
Take a walk through time as you tour our new space, learning our history through engaging displays and talking with those involved along the way. Tours will be in small groups and masks are required.
Founded in 1996 by a group of food providers, activists, and community members with an idea to redistribute an abundance of food, we had our beginnings operating from 700 square feet of space in downtown Iowa City, from which 12 volunteers rescued an astounding 50,000 pounds of food in the first year.
Now, T2T has transformed into a distribution network of more than 100 volunteers rescuing 50,000 pounds of food each week and delivering it to recipient agencies that feed more than 20,000 Johnson County neighbors.
Our new location in Iowa City’s South District neighborhood is closer to partner agencies that receive more than half the rescued food. A larger space also accommodates resource-sharing partnership with nonprofit Field to Family allowing our two organizations to share the space, basic operational expenses, and food refrigeration.
Necessary renovations to the space include installing an overhead door and upgrading the plumbing and electrical lines to meet food warehousing standards, for which we need to raise $75,000. We are 32% of the way to our goal.
Checks made out to Table to Table can be mailed to PO Box 2596, Iowa City, IA 52244, or make a donation online.
