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#foodrescue

0 posts0 participants0 posts today
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

The article for my town's Free Fridge, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening group just came out!

You can read the article here: fredericksburg.com/news/local/

(Non-paywalled archive: archive.is/AjYvg )

Goes into detail on our efforts to build out Free Fridges throughout town, conduct Food Rescue, and to help folks garden their food indoors. Even interviews the local food bank and discusses our cooperative partnerships with them as well!

Fredericksburg.comFree Fridge group encourages people to give and take foodNew nonprofit wants to reduce food insecurity and waste while building a sense of community.
#solarPunk#foodRescue#indoorGardening
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

On the Post-Scarcity Food front. My local group, which covers Free Fridges, Food Rescue, and Indoor Food Gardening - we just got interviewed my our town's local newspaper.

Which is cool.

We're starting to get noticed and more and more folks are joining the group organically.

The group currently has around 65 members in the discord chat. 80ish members (much overlap) on the email newsgroup. We have around 10 folks that have signed up for the food rescue app. And we get 5 to 15 folks in person and via zoom for the monthly meetings. We have a core very active group of around 6 folks with lots of folks hanging in the wing to help as needed.

And we have intentionally NOT recruited or let folks know about us (beyond a couple local events), as we wanted to get some things in place first.

I wanted to make sure that volunteers weren't met with a ghost town, right. I wanted to get the infrastructure in place first.

Well it's in place.

And we have some initial food rescues. And some more coming down the pipe. And some irons in the fire for new free fridge placements.

And the library and food bank is asking us to put together coursework and programming around growing your own food indoors.

So. For as much as I'm fucking nervous, lol. It's time to really start growing.... fuuuuck.

Ha! Funny thing. I was arguing caution and hoping for another month or two before really branching out and a fellow coordinator pushed back and said, fuck that, let's go now!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm being scared and I've been called out, HAHAHA!!! Which is good. I needed a swift kick in the ass. (honestly, if I hung back too much, this other person would have just gone ahead and done it. I am NOT the only decision maker here, even if I was the one to get it started)..

Alright. Fine. Let's do it, HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Oooooh.... this is happening. Shiiiit!!!

Failure is scary. But success is downright terrifying.

#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodSecurity
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

The meeting with the local food bank with really really well!!!

They have solid relationships with a bunch of grocery stores already and they already do "big haul" food rescues as it is. That's good. That means I dont have to waste time going out and "cold calling" those folks.

But here's the thing... they are really struggling with the "small haul" food rescues.

While they have trucks and even paid drivers who can pick up large food rescues, they don't have the bandwidth to send someone to a small grocery store (think your dollar stores or small convenience stores and gas stations). Those places dont always have food rescue and if they do, its small enough to only fit in the back of an SUV or similar.

Buuuuut... that's what my group is really good at!!! We *focus* on rescues that a single person can do with their car, truck, or even their bicycle / trailer!

In fact, the food bank has FOURTEEN!!! stores lined up already that just need people to pick up the food! They have the relationship already set up. They have the places to receive the food rescue and distribute it out already set up. They just need people to pick up from point A and drop off at point B.

Well dang. Let's do it!

I've set up a next meeting with the food bank's food rescue coordinator. We'll sit down and hash out requirements. My plan is to then get one or two "test routes" put out to see if we can handle those. Once we do, we'll scale up.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

#foodRescue
#foodBank
#foodSecurity
#postScarcity
#solarPunk

Tinker ☀️

Got a meeting with the local food bank here shortly.

One other person and myself from the food rescue group are meeting with the food bank to sort out where they're currently doing food rescue from. A couple reasons behind this:

1) We dont want to duplicate efforts. If they're already rescuing food, then we can move on to the next place.
2) If they are rescuing food but not all of it (say they're only grabbing canned food but not bread from a bakery) we can close the gap.
3) If they've got an agreement in place but need help with logistics (pick up and drop off), we can assist there.

Should be a good meeting. Lots of folks in town trying to feed each other.

#foodRescue#foodBank#foodSecurity
Greg Johnson

Alfred Robert Tucker was an Anglican bishop in Africa. In his bio, he says missionaries of the Christian Missionary Society appealed to the British government to abolish slavery within the areas of Africa which were under its control.

I keep hearing liberals complain that the purpose of missionaries, per se, was to scope out people to be enslaved. Like a herald for Galactus.

How can you use your advocacy for good?

#christian#pray#booknerd
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

Results of that food rescue route I mentioned! A lot of produce. Neighbors came and grabbed a lot of the veggies when it came in. I put the rest into the fridge for others to grab later.

This was one vendor on one night.

We throw away so much good food.

I'm going to go find more food.

#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodRescue
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

Momentous Update on the Food Rescue Program!!!

We got our first food rescue!!!! Like official. In the app! Not an adhoc one. And it wasnt me who set this up! Another organizer got our first grocer. I put the route into the app and opened it up for volunteers.

And a community member picked it up!!!!!

We are rescuing food from a grocer and delivering to a free fridge!

Calling it: November 14th of last year (2024) - to now (June 10th 2025). 7 months from idea conception to a formal route / food rescue between a food seller and a food distributor. (With founding a mutual aid group, to growing it, to partnering with a national food rescue org - yay Food Rescue US! - to meeting with a grocer and connecting them to a free fridge all in between)

Now it's time to scale....

#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodSecurity
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

Food Rescue Program Update

HOLY FUCKING SHIT I AM FUCKING SCARED OF TOMORROW!!!! (hint: it's good news)

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Blarrrrgh!!!!!!!!

Fuck.

Okay, it's good news, really, but shit am I a catatonic mess of nausea and nerves and I don't fucking know what to do.

Tomorrow is our weekly Farmer's Market. This is really important in our town and it's one key to building greater community. This isn't an idyllic saccharine frolic as the Farmer's Market trope is often presented.

So. Two folks who have joined my Fridge and Food Rescue group have INITIATED, ORGANIZED, AND LEAD!!!! setting up at our Farmer's Market. Two or three other folks will be joining these two leaders.

I didn't do this. I started the main group, sure, but they're going off on their own without me. That's a good thing. Amazing thing actually. I should never be a bottleneck or the main person. This has to be everyone.

But they've asked me to come and see if any of the other farmers and vendors at the market want to enroll in our food rescue program while they handle other things.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Y'all. I'm good at talking to a group of people that want to work together. I'm good at solving programs. I'm damned good at setting up groups, and infrastructure, and programs.

But I am DEATHLY AFRAID of talking to people that could possibly say no. Hahahaha.

I didn't use to be like this, but I experienced a really fucking traumatic event about three years ago that involved me begging and pleading and making and giving arguments that absolutely were logical and reasoned and supported with a massive amount of evidence. I spent tens of thousands of dollars that I didn't (and still dont) have. I went into crazy debt that I might still not get out from.... all to be brushed aside and denied at every front.

I say that... because its made it to where I can't approach anyone now if there will be any push back. I can fight people, right. I can stand up to someone doing bad in the moment. But I can't try to REASON with them.

And that's bleeding into other aspects of my life. I can't go to city council meetings to plead for them not to set up an AI data center in my town, for example.

And, interestingly, it makes it incredibly difficult to "cold call" or approach folks to sign them up for food rescue.

Fuck me....

I'm going to try this tomorrow. And I have my friends and comrades there who WILL help me.

But, ya'll... I'm fucking scared.

Hahaha. Shit.

#foodRescue#mutualAid#solarPunk
Continued thread
Tinker ☀️

Massive Update on the Food Rescue front!!!

We worked out the contract issues with Food Rescue US (FRUS - foodrescue.us)and we just signed the contract!

We can now begin the rescue efforts in earnest!!!

This is MASSIVE!!!

This initiative started last November,, and while it's had a couple of obstacles, five months from conception to group formation to joining with a national org isn't that long.

We're also going to be joining Food Rescue Alliance (FRA - boulderfoodrescue.org/food-res). They're a US based national "mutual aid of mutual aids" sort of thing. So we can join other food rescue groups and learn from each other.

I'd like to see if there's a state group to join as well. If not, I'd like to start one up. A lot of laws and regulations are state based and learning from other groups in our state would be amazing.

Soooo!!!!

Expect some more updates in the coming weeks.

I'm so excited!!!!

Food Rescue US · Home | Food Rescue USFood Rescue US engages volunteers to transfer fresh food surpluses from local businesses to social service agencies serving the food insecure
#solarPunk#mutualAid#foodRescue
jendefer

Another #kombucha processing day, even though I haven't finished drinking all of the previous batch. Today's second ferments were done with the last of my rescue watermelon as well as some of the gazillion excess grapes I picked up last weekend. I haven't tried grapes before, so we'll see how they compare to the watermelon (which so far is my best second ferment material, I think).

#fermentation#FoodRescue
jendefer

So many grapes in today's produce rescue. I have juiced a bunch. Some of the leftover pulp went into a fruit salad. Other pulp I'll use in a fruit leather experiment. Also have a couple trays in the oven in a raisin experiment. It's a chance to try some ideas from Put 'Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

I was going to use a bottle of red wine to dye eggs tomorrow, but now I'm thinking of just trying grape juice with vinegar.

#FoodWaste#FoodRescue#grapes
Tinker ☀️

Not me wanting to pick up mobile app development so I can build my own Food Rescue app.

These apps have very basic functionality. I've looked at a couple now. From open source apps to multi-thousand dollar a year apps designed by "non-profits". I think I could make a better one.

Only issue would be backend server processing and space... it wouldn't be a lot. Just a database.

I could do this...

Hashtag: I haven't really thought this through

#solarPunk#foodRescue#app
Continued thread
*
Tinker ☀️

Ok! It's a solid app and it works.

It's open sourced with a fun anti-capitalist license: gitlab.com/food-rescue-allianc

It allows admins / organizers to:
- create a Donor/Contributer profile
- create a Dropoff/Distributor profile
- create a food rescue pickup between a Contributor and a Distributor site at a specific time during the day for specific days.

It allows users / gleaners to:
- See all the available food rescue pickups
- Read notes on the pickup and dropoff locations
- See a map of both sites and the route between the two.

The app is a self-described MVP - Minimum Viable Product. It works but does not have a lot of features. It hasn't had an update in a couple of years, but it is actively used (there's not much to update unless someone discloses vulns or they add a new feature).

They're talking about raising money and hiring a software engineer, but this is definitely a good candidate for a hackathon or FOSS programming program.

Some things that I would like to see (if I or other could code it for them):
- Ability of users filter open food rescue pick-ups by distance from their home to the pickup location, or their home to the dropoff location
- Ability of users to filter for specific days of the week (right now they can see specific dates, but if they want to see all shifts for the next several Mondays - for example - they aren't able to filter it).

One problem that I haven't figured out, is if a user / volunteer / gleaner commits to a recurring shift, I can't see how they drop their commitment to that shift. I've emailed FRA to see if I'm missing something.

Long and short, it's lacking some features that I've seen in other food rescue coordination software, but these software apps don't have a lot of features or functionality to begin with. Also the other apps seem to be for profit (even if under the aegis of "non-profit") and often have a dedicated software engineer. This is a FOSS app made by a bunch of volunteers.

Long and short, it absolutely beats a manually maintained spreadsheet! And it's not far behind other apps that have a dedicated software team.

Thread 2/2

GitLabLICENSE · development · Food Rescue Alliance / Rootable · GitLabSoftware that aids community-based organizations in redistributing food. Rootable manages schedules, deliveries, donations, volunteers, and data for food rescue shifts.
#foodRescue#mutualAid#solarPunk
*
Tinker ☀️

Alright... let's test out this Food Rescue coordination software....

Rootable: rootable.org/
Source Code: gitlab.com/food-rescue-allianc
FRA: boulderfoodrescue.org/food-res

I reached out to FRA and spoke with them about joining their alliance. They send me creds and a test server to check out their web app for coordinating food rescue. They have a second meeting with my entire group at our next in-person meeting.

So far, I love their ethos and their approach.

I'm going to go test the software and reply to this post on my thoughts.

Thread: 1/2

rootable.orgRootable
#foodRescue#FRA#mutualAid
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