For many of us on the internal team, The Farmlink Project has become much more than a job or a volunteer opportunity: it is the root of some of our most meaningful friendships. During a year of isolation, the Farmlink Project community filled so much of what we felt was missing from our lives; now, it’s something I can’t imagine my life without. This sentiment holds true throughout the organization.
Audrey Slatkin, Sustainability Team Lead, describes how “each new Farmlink friend [she’s] made has been so intelligent yet personable, so driven but still so warm and generous with their time.” Audrey went on to say how Farmlinkers are “so different yet so similar, not only in the values we hold true, but in this magical shared energy we all seem to radiate.”
This “magical shared energy” was even more apparent than usual when, at the opening of our first in-person office this month in Los Angeles, Farmlinkers who had spent hour upon hour on Zoom together got to meet off-screen for the first time. Each time the office door swung open, newcomers were swarmed and greeted with welcome hugs. We oohed and ahhed over the view of Downtown Los Angeles from our 32nd-floor office and chatted about the dreams we have for the future of The Farmlink Project— “moonshots.”
The office is not yet fully furnished, so while some sat on the few available couches, other team members made themselves comfortable on the floor. Keyboards were clicking, Slack notifications chiming, and Zoom calls beginning. I found myself looking up from my work more often than I usually would simply because watching other people work was so exciting. Almost immediately, members from different teams started new cross-organization projects. In one afternoon, Quinn Ramberg took on the tasks of designing a few new Google Advertisements for the Analytics Team and building a new section of our website for the Sustainability Team. Caroline Ricksen, a Farmlink Project alumna, brought donuts in for everyone.
These reunions aren’t just taking place on Farmlink turf, though; throughout the year, regional meetups have taken place all across the country. Lindsay Carlin, a Hunger and Outreach Team (HOT) Lead, has met up with Farmlinkers in Seattle, New York City, and Minneapolis, and is working on planning a Chicago get-together soon. She says that “it’s been absolutely surreal to meet everyone in three dimensions, and each time I do, I feel a renewed sense of gratitude to be part of a team of such kind, interesting, and spirited people who are as invested in the community as they are in the day-to-day work. It feels like catching up with old friends because of the amount of time we've spent ‘together’ and the shared experiences we have as a result.”
Olivia Groell, Impact Team Co-Lead, has also met a few Farmlinkers in person over the past year. “It has felt so positive to meet up with my Farmlink family in person, because I really feel like everyone genuinely wants to connect and become lifelong friends. I feel supported, cared for, and excited to continue building relationships whenever I meet up with Farmlinkers in real life.”
These changes are great. But how’s it all going to be funded?
During the comment process, Farmlink, as well as other food rescue organizations and coalitions, raised critical questions about how the strategy would be funded and, as a result, which measures are feasible. In particular, we hoped for more clarity beyond the draft’s statement that the USDA would use American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act funds and the EPA would use Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. Of the 86 programs or initiatives reviewed in the final strategy, only 15 are completely new programs announced in the strategy.
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The other 71 are existing programs or initiatives that either already have a food loss and waste focus or that the national strategy has repackaged as food loss and waste solutions. While we had hopes of new, innovative programs being included in the strategy, the good news with these 71 programs is that most, if not all, are already funded, meaning that they are not reliant on an increasingly turbulent Congress for implementation. Of the 15 new programs, which included the EPA’s new consumer education campaign and several new cooperative agreements with land-grant universities, only 2 had specific funding mechanisms. It has become increasingly clear that food rescue organizations and other stakeholders in the food and agriculture space should not consider this strategy as a new rollout of FLW solutions, programs, and funding but rather as an evaluation of the current resources and solutions and how each can be most effectively utilized to achieve the strategy’s goals. In particular, the framing of many of USDA’s programs as FLW solutions offers opportunities to utilize existing funding, data, and infrastructure to solve one of the United States’s most pressing problems.
Whats next?
Now that we have the strategy, it’s time to truly take advantage of the opportunities it presents. In the immediate future at Farmlink, we’re excited to continue optimizing Section 32 as a critical on-farm food loss solution as we anticipate significant surplus recoveries in the fall. As we move forward, we continue to advocate for dignity with food distribution, emphasizing cultural appropriateness and quality in every pound of food we rescue. As outlined in our comments, food rescue organizations are critical stakeholders and thought partners for the agencies. Our inclusion in the strategy as such is an opportunity we are taking full advantage of to help guide federal action to support farmers, feed communities, and heal the planet.
< BackFor many of us on the internal team, The Farmlink Project has become much more than a job or a volunteer opportunity: it is the root of some of our most meaningful friendships. During a year of isolation, the Farmlink Project community filled so much of what we felt was missing from our lives; now, it’s something I can’t imagine my life without. This sentiment holds true throughout the organization.
Audrey Slatkin, Sustainability Team Lead, describes how “each new Farmlink friend [she’s] made has been so intelligent yet personable, so driven but still so warm and generous with their time.” Audrey went on to say how Farmlinkers are “so different yet so similar, not only in the values we hold true, but in this magical shared energy we all seem to radiate.”
This “magical shared energy” was even more apparent than usual when, at the opening of our first in-person office this month in Los Angeles, Farmlinkers who had spent hour upon hour on Zoom together got to meet off-screen for the first time. Each time the office door swung open, newcomers were swarmed and greeted with welcome hugs. We oohed and ahhed over the view of Downtown Los Angeles from our 32nd-floor office and chatted about the dreams we have for the future of The Farmlink Project— “moonshots.”
The office is not yet fully furnished, so while some sat on the few available couches, other team members made themselves comfortable on the floor. Keyboards were clicking, Slack notifications chiming, and Zoom calls beginning. I found myself looking up from my work more often than I usually would simply because watching other people work was so exciting. Almost immediately, members from different teams started new cross-organization projects. In one afternoon, Quinn Ramberg took on the tasks of designing a few new Google Advertisements for the Analytics Team and building a new section of our website for the Sustainability Team. Caroline Ricksen, a Farmlink Project alumna, brought donuts in for everyone.
These reunions aren’t just taking place on Farmlink turf, though; throughout the year, regional meetups have taken place all across the country. Lindsay Carlin, a Hunger and Outreach Team (HOT) Lead, has met up with Farmlinkers in Seattle, New York City, and Minneapolis, and is working on planning a Chicago get-together soon. She says that “it’s been absolutely surreal to meet everyone in three dimensions, and each time I do, I feel a renewed sense of gratitude to be part of a team of such kind, interesting, and spirited people who are as invested in the community as they are in the day-to-day work. It feels like catching up with old friends because of the amount of time we've spent ‘together’ and the shared experiences we have as a result.”
Olivia Groell, Impact Team Co-Lead, has also met a few Farmlinkers in person over the past year. “It has felt so positive to meet up with my Farmlink family in person, because I really feel like everyone genuinely wants to connect and become lifelong friends. I feel supported, cared for, and excited to continue building relationships whenever I meet up with Farmlinkers in real life.”
Farmlink Friendships
For many of us on the internal team, The Farmlink Project has become much more than a job or a volunteer opportunity: it is the root of some of our most meaningful friendships. During a year of isolation, the Farmlink Project community filled so much of what we felt was missing from our lives; now, it’s something I can’t imagine my life without. This sentiment holds true throughout the organization.
Audrey Slatkin, Sustainability Team Lead, describes how “each new Farmlink friend [she’s] made has been so intelligent yet personable, so driven but still so warm and generous with their time.” Audrey went on to say how Farmlinkers are “so different yet so similar, not only in the values we hold true, but in this magical shared energy we all seem to radiate.”
This “magical shared energy” was even more apparent than usual when, at the opening of our first in-person office this month in Los Angeles, Farmlinkers who had spent hour upon hour on Zoom together got to meet off-screen for the first time. Each time the office door swung open, newcomers were swarmed and greeted with welcome hugs. We oohed and ahhed over the view of Downtown Los Angeles from our 32nd-floor office and chatted about the dreams we have for the future of The Farmlink Project— “moonshots.”
The office is not yet fully furnished, so while some sat on the few available couches, other team members made themselves comfortable on the floor. Keyboards were clicking, Slack notifications chiming, and Zoom calls beginning. I found myself looking up from my work more often than I usually would simply because watching other people work was so exciting. Almost immediately, members from different teams started new cross-organization projects. In one afternoon, Quinn Ramberg took on the tasks of designing a few new Google Advertisements for the Analytics Team and building a new section of our website for the Sustainability Team. Caroline Ricksen, a Farmlink Project alumna, brought donuts in for everyone.
These reunions aren’t just taking place on Farmlink turf, though; throughout the year, regional meetups have taken place all across the country. Lindsay Carlin, a Hunger and Outreach Team (HOT) Lead, has met up with Farmlinkers in Seattle, New York City, and Minneapolis, and is working on planning a Chicago get-together soon. She says that “it’s been absolutely surreal to meet everyone in three dimensions, and each time I do, I feel a renewed sense of gratitude to be part of a team of such kind, interesting, and spirited people who are as invested in the community as they are in the day-to-day work. It feels like catching up with old friends because of the amount of time we've spent ‘together’ and the shared experiences we have as a result.”
Olivia Groell, Impact Team Co-Lead, has also met a few Farmlinkers in person over the past year. “It has felt so positive to meet up with my Farmlink family in person, because I really feel like everyone genuinely wants to connect and become lifelong friends. I feel supported, cared for, and excited to continue building relationships whenever I meet up with Farmlinkers in real life.”
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