“We are the weirdos who tow hundreds of pounds of food on our bikes,” says Hayden Dansky, co-founder and executive director of Boulder Food Rescue (BFR). “And we have a lot of fun doing it,” they add.
While many of us will be relaxing and enjoying meals with friends and family this holiday season, the staff and volunteers at BFR will be working hard to create a more just and less wasteful food system. “We do this through the sustainable redistribution of healthy but perishable produce directly to communities to form community-led food access programs,” explains Dansky.
Boulderites Experience Food Insecurity
While Boulder may be known for its fine dining and health-consciousness, the “Boulder Bubble” isn’t immune to the problems facing the rest of the country. According to Dansky, one in nine people in the U.S. experienced food insecurity in 2019 — and that rate has only risen in the past two years.
They say as many as one in three people have experienced food insecurity since the onset of COVID-19. Moreover, hunger disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities, people with disabilities, immigrants, seniors, LBGTQ+ people and those with less access to employment opportunities and living wages.
At the same time, Dansky says 40 percent of the food in this country ends up in trash cans and compost bins. The problem isn’t a lack of food; the issue is that the food isn’t getting to the people who need it.
How BFR is Helping
BFR is filling that gap. “We form partnerships with food and retail businesses across Boulder to donate their excess food that would otherwise be wasted. We then transport that food directly to affordable housing sites, preschools and daycares to form what we call No Cost Grocery Programs,” says Dansky.
According to Dansky, this unique model utilizes “the voices, experiences, and leadership of program participants.” Community leaders — not administrative professionals — determine when, where and how the food is redistributed according to their beneficiaries’ needs, which, according to Dansky, “simply works better for people.”
One of BFR’s goals is to eliminate the barriers that tend to arise when accessing traditional food assistance agencies. Those barriers include transportation, limited hours of operation, paperwork requirements, lack of culturally relevant and healthy food, and social stigma.
BFR takes a multi-pronged approach to breaking these barriers down. Distributing food where people are already gathered, including affordable housing sites and schools, eliminates or reduces logistical issues such as limited operating hours, transportation and carrying groceries long distances from bus routes. With community members in leadership roles, recipients don’t need to deal with the shame and stigma associated with accessing food in the charity system. And the quick and direct distribution of food supports produce and perishable food delivery. As Dansky explains, “Developing trust and prioritizing feedback allows for more choice in food quantities and desires, such as culturally-relevant and nourishing foods.”
When BFR was established in 2011, the co-founders engaged with community members who were receiving food at a meal in the park. Dansky recalls, “Their feedback was that BFR food was the healthiest food they got all week, and that it was different because everyone sat down and ate together.”
This conversation ended up serving as the foundation of BFR’s two core values: improving health equity outcomes by distributing healthy, fresh produce and implementing participatory community-led structures. Dansky explains, “Program participants continue to lead and run programs, creating systems that work for their communities.”
Dansky wants the community to know, however, that the problems BFR is addressing aren’t purely operational in nature. “Sometimes food insecurity and food waste are framed as merely logistical problems, results of a broken food system,” they explain. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the full picture. Retail-level food waste still exists mainly because it’s profitable — displaying a surplus of food drives consumers to buy more food — and therefore, designed into the system.”
This flagrant waste contributes to a wide swath of problems at all levels of society. “Our climate crisis is compounded by systemic food waste. This catastrophe is intricately woven with issues of racial and economic justice: Health outcomes for people experiencing food insecurity are consistently low, exacerbating systemic poverty.” Says Dansky, “These intersections are what we seek to change from a holistic and community-driven approach.”
So far, that approach seems to be working quite well. In 2021, BFR distributed over 400,000 pounds of food to 29 No Cost Grocery Programs plus 10 additional recipient sites. Since the organization’s inception, it has distributed more than 4 million pounds of food.
Their strategies aren’t just working in Boulder. BFR has created a national Food Rescue Alliance program, which has expanded to include 33 localized food rescue organizations that share practices, resources, and ideas. According to Dansky, they’re currently working toward using cooperatively owned redistribution logistics software, Rootable.
Give Your Support
You can help support BFR’s mission. Right now, they’re fundraising for Boulder Food Rescue’s 2022 operating budget and needs. “Your support can go a long way,” says Dansky. For every $1 you give, the organization will distribute $4 worth of produce to those who wouldn’t otherwise have access.
To donate, go online to: boulderfoodrescue.org/donate.
You can also lend a hand by distributing food, either by bicycle or by car, to communities. While it’s great if you can commit to helping on a weekly basis, on-call volunteers are needed, too.
Other volunteer opportunities include helping with outreach, public speaking and website support. To learn more or offer your time, contact: [email protected].
Get Support
And if you need help, it’s available. Those living at a Boulder Housing Partners or Thistle housing site, can contact [email protected] to be connected to the Grocery Program Coordinator at your housing complex. Otherwise, visit boulderfoodrescue.org/community-resources, where you can find a comprehensive list of local resources.
