Montgomery County Community College’s Food Recovery Program has been named among 28 community colleges nationwide as recipients of the 2023-2024 Innovation of the Year award by The League for Innovation in the Community College, an international nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate innovation in the community college environment.

According to its website, the award, established more than 30 years ago, and recognizes innovative programs and the employees behind them at member community colleges that improve the ability to serve students and communities.

The Food Recovery Program repurposes excess foods from MCCC’s Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry programs to create free, healthy meals to deliver to the Wellness Center’s Stock up for Success food pantries. The program, launched in fall 2023, has begun to reduce the amount of wasted food, help in the fight against climate change and reduce hunger among students.

Karima Roepel, Director of the Hospitality Institute, and Jennifer Fanega, first-year Food Sustainability Fellow in the Hospitality Institute, developed the program.

“We are incredibly proud to receive this award, because of what it represents,” said Roepel. “In its first year, the Food Recovery Program has changed students’ lives for the better. We’ve helped curb food insecurity across campus and prevented food waste as a whole. We thank The League for Innovation for its consideration in recognizing all that we’ve achieved so far and will continue to achieve in the future.”

“The Food Recovery Program really is an innovative way to address both food insecurity and climate change,” said Fanega. “I am honored to receive the recognition, and I'm so glad the program has gotten so much visibility. It will undoubtedly help the College to expand the program's reach and impact.”

Fanega is an AmeriCorps Vista Fellow, who worked at the College from August 2023 through July 2024, as part of a one-year fellowship program. A 2021 MCCC alumna, who graduated with a Liberal Studies degree, Fanega transferred to West Chester University to earn a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition with a concentration in Sustainable Food Systems Management in May 2023. She is also a trained natural foods chef and has worked for those facing health concerns and dietary restrictions.

The Food Recovery Program is part of a response to a growing need among students who’ve said they’re facing food insecurity.

In September 2020, MCCC’s Institutional Effectiveness & Strategic Innovation and Business Intelligence office conducted a student essential needs survey, which showed that 38 percent of the 1,068 respondents said they experience some level of food insecurity. The number today is estimated to be a larger percentage.

Among the barriers to healthy foods includes not having the resources. Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, have been reduced while food prices have risen.

Additionally, the Food Recovery Program is an attempt to tackle climate change by reducing the amount of food that’s sent to local landfills.

A 2021 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “estimated that each year, U.S. food loss and waste embodies 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions” and according to the USDA “when food ends up in landfills, it generates methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas.”

Lastly, by providing the meals at no cost to students, they are gaining access to nutritious meals, curbing hunger on campus.

In the fall 2023 semester, the Food Recovery Program provided the equivalent of 937 meals to the food pantries, which saw 218 unique visitors with 979 visits, an estimated 200 percent increase over previous semesters.

“Once SNAP benefits were cut in March 2023, we saw an uptick,” said Dr. Nichole Kang, Director of the Wellness Center, previously. “We measured the first full month of spring 2023 and then again in the fall of 2023. That’s how we saw the 200 percent increase.”

Kang said a special QR code was created for students to sign in and that’s how they were able to track the 218 unique students.

The Food Recovery Program utilizes extra ingredients, as well as food that has been prepared by students. The dishes the program prepares are typically vegan, to allow the largest number of students to eat them. Everything is packaged, labeled, and donated, and any inedible scraps are composted by the Plymouth Meeting-based Back to Earth Compost.

Fanega’s one-year fellowship with the College ended in June 2024. For year two of the program, Roepel said the College has hired a new fellow to fill her role and continue to expand the program. Lianna Beauchamps holds a bachelor’s degree in Sustainability from Stockton University and has prior teaching experience. Beauchamps will teach students basic cooking skills and food sustainability concepts in the Hospitality Institute.

“The second year of the Food Recovery program will continue providing meals to the Wellness Center, while also fostering strong relationships and partnerships in Montgomery County and the region,” said Roepel. “We want to connect with the health care and farming communities to sustain a more robust, holistic approach to wellness.”

The continuation of the Food Recovery program is just one feature of the new Hospitality Institute, which is scheduled to open for classes during the fall 2024 semester. The new, 24,000-square-foot building located on Blue Bell Campus will be home to MCCC’s Baking and Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts and Tourism and Hospitality Management certificate and degree programs along with community and professional classes. Highlights include the building’s chocolate, pasta and fermentation labs, and event space. For more information about the Hospitality Institute, visit the landing page.