According to Feeding America, 80 million tons of food is wasted in the United States each year. When you think of organizations that are feeding the hungry, it’s hard to justify the significant amount of food thrown away.

Approximately one in every 10 Kansans face food insecurity. With high inflation at grocery stores, families struggle to put three square meals on the table each day. While there is some nuance to food waste – like damage and spoilage as food moves through the supply chain – reversing unnecessary food waste is part of a solution to minimize the increased instances of food insecurity.

Stephanie Merritt, founder and executive director for ICT Food Rescue in Wichita, has been passionate about rescuing food since she was in college.

“I was a student at Wichita State University and through some of my classes, I traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York and saw food rescue happening there,” she says. “At the time, I was an individual who had to throw food surplus away at my job and that’s when I decided something needed to change in Wichita.”

In 2016, she and two of her college classmates formed ICT Food Rescue as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. The organization distributes surplus items that would likely get thrown away. Depending on the donation, ICT Food Rescue then repurposes the food or provides it as-is to organizations that serve food insecure individuals in Wichita.

“We go out into the community to see if there’s any food that could potentially be thrown away at places like restaurants, caterers, grocery stores or InTrust Bank Arena, for example, then we distribute that either as a meal or directly to an organization,” says Tonya Ross, ICT Food Rescue’s director of community outreach. “We work with 18 organizations throughout Wichita where we donate food. Then those organizations – whether it’s a homeless shelter, a substance abuse recovery facility, foster care, emergency shelter or veteran’s organization – distribute the rescued meals or items to those who experience food insecurity.”

From recycle to upcycle

Though the current system of food donations is important, ICT Food Rescue has created an additional system of donating that makes complete meals through its brand new Upcycle Kitchen.

“The Upcycle Kitchen was not something I even imagined back in 2016,” Merritt says. “What I found in my research through the years with ICT Food Rescue is that multiple donations were getting dropped off at different locations, but nobody was getting a complete meal. Somebody gets all the chicken, somebody gets all the rice, somebody gets all the broccoli.”

But with the Upcycle Kitchen, that chicken, rice and broccoli goes to one location to be made into a meal.

“Instead of those organizations getting individual ingredients, they’re getting a complete meal,” Merritt says.

The kitchen opened in February 2023 and they’re officially cooking in the space and providing meals.

“We are compliant with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and the meals we cook are frozen, then sent to our partnering organizations,” Merritt says. “A lot of that is to make transport easier, but it also allows us to utilize as many of the ingredients we can and preserve it safely.”

Wichita may be urban, but there are area farmers and ranchers who get involved in ICT Food Rescue through this method.

“We have worked with a couple of different programs who provide deer meat to us, so we can utilize that game to make chili and whatever else we can make with the deer meat,” Ross says. “We also work with farmers to do gleaning in the community as well, so we’ve gleaned grapes, strawberries and peaches.”

The partnership between ICT Food Rescue and area farmers and ranchers goes full circle because the organization will donate bread or other ingredients to livestock producers and get meat and eggs in return.

“Even if we have some food that may not be edible by humans, we still have some extra food we don’t want to waste,” Ross says. “It’s still a good meal for a pig.”

Mission: Volunteer

In early November, 78 volunteers from both Wichita State University’s Department of Sports Management and Wichita’s minor league baseball team, the Wichita Wind Surge, were on-hand to help with various tasks – a good teaching moment to provide students with information about food insecurity and an opportunity for them to give back to their community.

“Being able to educate students on what food insecurity looks like and how it could affect them is an important aspect of them volunteering,” Ross says. “Some of the meals we provide go to the Shocker Support Locker, a food pantry on Wichita State’s campus, so it helps them understand that food insecurity may also impact their fellow classmates and friends without even realizing it.”

The majority of the volunteers that day were impressive Wichita State students who knew the importance of showing up, giving back and taking the day seriously.

“We’re volunteering to see how we can help in the community and since we’re here with some of the Wichita Wind Surge team, we’re able to network and interact with them, too,” says Spencer Olmstead, a student in the sports management department. “Our department truly cares about the growth of our community, not just Wichita State, so we like to do outreach events to help those who we can.”

Alex Lazarova, a student at Wichita State originally from Slovakia came to Kansas in 2017 on a full scholarship to play tennis and stayed to pursue her master’s.

“The sports management department does a great job of bringing people together,” she says. “It’s great to give back to the community and I’m glad I get to have a part in this.”

As the organization grows, so does its need for more volunteers.

“We typically have just about 60 to 90 volunteers on a consistent basis,” Ross says. “As we are continuing to grow the program, we are getting more food in and therefore need more people to help us. It’s a good problem to have, but we are always appreciative of any new or returning volunteers.”

ICT Food Rescue is one of those organizations that instead of complaining about a problem, it works to find a solution.

“I love what I do because I never knew there was this world outside of my blinders,” Merritt says. “I’ve gotten to meet so many wonderful, amazing people who are doing so much good in the community. Seeing the people who are trying to do and be a part of something positive is so fulfilling.”

For Ross, her purpose has been felt personally.

“I first started volunteering at ICT Food Rescue,” she says. “I was passionate about this cause because I knew there was a food waste problem within our community, and then within a couple of months, I became the volunteer coordinator. It really is a passion. My own family has experienced food insecurity. I know what it means for people to receive food, and thinking about these families having access to meals just makes your heart smile.”

Food waste may not be something we can completely exterminate, but food insecurity should be. Whether you donate to a local food pantry, minimize the waste your own family makes or volunteer your time or money, there are opportunities to be someone who is part of the solution.

For more information about ICT Food Rescue and its Upcycle Kitchen, visit www.ictfoodrescue.org.

ICT Food Rescue Stats

In 2023, ICT Food Rescue has:

• Collected 167,778 pounds of food
• Provided 139,815 meals
• Saved $322,133 for the community
• Offset 503,334 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions
• Offset 1,677,780 gallons of water

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