MOST OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE/INVOLVEMENT NOMINEE
Loyola Asian Student Organization
Action Month: Food Recovery Network
Provide a detailed description of the event and the population it served. Details MUST include: date of event, number of participants, program purpose (goals, objectives, etc.) and use of resources (finances, community support, etc.).
LASO’s outstanding community service event was a collaboration with the Food Recovery Network program at Loyola, a small branch of what happens to be a national program that works to reduce hunger throughout the United States. Lasting from November 5-7, 2019, two to four LASO members took turns each night coming into the Orleans Room (the OR; Loyola’s dining hall) at 8pm to repackage, weigh, and label all of the leftover food that the OR had leftover from the day with the guidance of a shift leader for the organization. This program was used to help our members see how much food could have been going to waste, which would have led to its disposal into the landfill but instead was salvaged and repackaged for New Orleans mission, whose mission is “to help provide shelter, food, and spiritual guidance to the homeless and broken in our city.” Loyola’s branch helps to provide hundreds of meals to this nonprofit every day.
What efforts were used to motivate and involve the organization's members?
The main effort used to motivate our members was simply explaining how much of an impact this program had to not just the city but the world. Understanding that because of us, food was sent to the less unfortunate in our community instead of the landfill felt rewarding to people. We’re helping others but at the same time we’re helping the problem of overflowing landfills in the world and fighting pollution.
Additional Comments
How did the organization overcome any challenges that arose while planning and implementing the event?
The main challenge of implementing the event was still motivating members to sign up although they may have seemed moved by the impact the Food Recovery Network has on the community, many may have still been skeptical about how helpful this program actually was. However, we explained that doing this program helped to fight this idea. Even when I (Sean) first explained to my friends why I disappear for an hour every Sunday night when I shift lead, they didn’t truly understand how impactful or important this volunteer work was until they actually tried it themselves. Afterwards, we saw that our members not only felt good about the impact they made, but they also had a new appreciation for the employees at Loyola who work so hard to provide us with our meals.