An Interview With Monica Sanders
We have an app. That’s the magic behind what we’re doing. We’ve put technology behind the problem, and a volunteer can see what’s out there in our community, what rescues they can pick up. They get step-by-step directions from the point of inception of the food. So the donor provides directions on how to get to them, what they’re giving away, and where the volunteer needs to take it. It’s a very user-friendly way for people to enter this space and do a food rescue. Every community can put some kind of technology in place to solve this problem, and that’s what we’re doing here in Cincinnati.
According to the University of Colorado, “Those who are most affected and have the fewest resources to adapt to climate change are also the least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions — both globally and within the United States.” Promoting climate justice is an incredibly important environmental responsibility that is slowly becoming more and more recognized. In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to promote sustainability and climate justice. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eileen Budo of Last Mile Food Rescue. Eileen honed her executive expertise securing multi-million dollar business partnerships with Suppliers around the world as a senior executive at P&G. In her last 15 years at P&G she specialized in the procurement of Business Services and crafted the first shared service for P&G manufacturing plants.
After her retirement from P&G, Eileen went to Culinary School at the Midwest Culinary Institute and began to focus her energy on how food makes us whole. She joins Last Mile Food Rescue with a passion for bring good food to those who need it and eliminating the issue of Food Insecurity across greater Cincinnati.
An Air Force veteran, Eileen proudly served in the Air Force Systems Command at Wright Patterson AFB where she met her husband, Ed. The two have been married for 30+ years; together they raised two great kids and share their Cincinnati home with two sweet dogs — a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle.
Eileen holds dual citizenship in the US and the Republic of Ireland and is an avid reader and novice baker of sourdough bread, a hobby she began to keep her sane during the COVID pandemic.
Thank you for joining me in this series with Authority magazine and the UnDivide project. We aim to highlight individuals who are dedicated to climate justice, sustainability, and bridging the digital divide. Today, I am thrilled to welcome Elaine from Last Mile Food Rescue. Hello, Elaine, and thank you for being here.
You’re welcome, Monica. I’m delighted to join you today. Thank you. Let’s dive right into it. Every organization has an origin story. Can you share the origin story of Last Mile Food Rescue?
Absolutely. We’re all fortunate to have people in our lives who take action and make things happen. In my journey with Last Mile Food Rescue, I’ve had the privilege of meeting two such individuals. The first is a dear friend of mine from Procter and Gamble, where we both worked for many years. He connected me with another woman, Julie Schiffman, who has now become a close friend. Tom and I worked together at Procter and Gamble until my retirement in 2019.
After retiring, I was searching for my next endeavor, and the issue of food insecurity deeply troubled me. I couldn’t understand why the problem persisted when there seemed to be an abundance of food, especially in the United States. It was during this time that I reconnected with my friend Tom, who was starting up Last Mile Food Rescue. He invited me to join the organization and run its operations.
Tom and Julie connected through our local food bank. Julie was discussing her food rescue efforts with Tom’s sister, who was curious about what a food rescue entails. You might be wondering the same thing. Well, in the United States, over 40% of our food production goes to waste. Last Mile Food Rescue aims to put an end to this by rescuing good, healthy food before it ends up in the trash. We work with agencies that support individuals facing food insecurity. Hence the name “Last Mile,” as we focus on that final leg of the journey where food often goes to waste.
When we talk about rescuing food, it’s important to note that it may not meet the beauty standards of some grocery stores. It could be overproduced or the result of farmers lacking means to transport surplus goods, given the challenges of our vast country and its supply chain. Our mission is to bridge the gaps in the food supply chain and ensure that this imperfect but perfectly good food reaches food banks, agencies, and organizations in need.
Both Tom and I worked in the supply chain at Procter and Gamble, so we understand the challenges of the last mile firsthand. This concept resonates strongly, particularly in the consumer goods industry. As you mentioned, Monica, it is a challenge faced by many. We appreciate your recognition of that. Moreover, we prioritize reaching communities in need, and the name “Last Mile” holds multiple meanings in this context.
I’m interested to know, what does community mean to you in terms of the people we engage and interact with?
Well, many of us belong to communities, but we often live in a bubble. We have our daily routines like going to work, taking our children to school, attending church, or going to the grocery store. These routines become our bubbles, and we consider them as our communities because our friends are there. However, for me, community means opening our eyes to everything around us. When I left Procter and Gamble and started doing volunteer work and outreach, I went on a few food rescues in Cincinnati. It was surprising to discover parts of the city I had never visited before, despite living there for so long. So, community is not just about the people we regularly interact with, such as colleagues and our children’s friends. It includes everyone who contributes to our diverse society, regardless of whether they go to our church or shop at our grocery store. They are still part of our community and add something wonderful to our daily experiences.
Thank you for sharing that. This semester, while doing field work with my university students, we realized that our university itself is a bubble. One of the students used that exact term, saying we live in a bubble that is unique and connected to other communities. This made us contemplate how we can reconsider our position. I appreciate how you framed it, as we are grappling with this issue. I hope many others are also wrestling with it as we delve into these significant topics, which people like you are tackling.
Absolutely. I had an experience with one of our food rescue heroes, who are our volunteers at Last Mile Food Rescue. This individual contacted me and expressed surprise, saying they had no idea about a lovely little community nearby, filled with many trailers and predominantly Hispanic residents. There were several moms in need of food, and our mobile market started serving that community. This volunteer had been living in Cincinnati without knowing about it, even though it was just around the corner. We tend to close our eyes to unfamiliar or uncomfortable things, but it’s crucial to open our eyes and acknowledge the various parts of society that make up our living environment. Recognizing those in need and offering support is a positive thing to do from time to time.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to make a transition?
Well, when it comes to food, many of us don’t recognize the importance of recycling. It may come naturally to some. You know, we have a crate at the curb. But it wasn’t always like this. We didn’t always recycle. The same goes for food. We fail to acknowledge or appreciate that a staggering 40% of all the food we produce goes to waste. Take a look in your own fridge without feeling embarrassed about it. I did it last weekend because I’m fortunate to have a dog in the backyard, and I can compost my waste there. However, I realized that there was a significant amount of food I was throwing away. A lot of the wasted food is our own responsibility, contributing to that 40% statistic. So, pay attention and spend a weekend recognizing the amount of food that gets thrown away. Think about the farmers who grew it and the laborers who transported it to the grocery store or the manufacturers who processed it. Along the way, all of that went to waste. Open your mind to this experience, and you’ll be amazed at the numerous opportunities available in communities throughout the US. I happen to live in a generous community. Cincinnati has a fantastic grocery store, the headquarters of America’s Grocery Chain Kroger. They have a sustainability promise called Zero Hunger, Zero Waste. Our Kroger grocery store donates food instead of sending it to the landfill. Additionally, there are many agencies supporting those who are food insecure. You can volunteer for one of those agencies or consider getting involved in the field of food rescue. It’s a growing trend across the US as we recognize and understand the problem. It’s a uniquely American problem, given the outsized wealth and abundance of food we produce compared to other countries. Americans are great at finding efficient solutions, so if we focus on efficiency, we can bring about significant changes. I’m optimistic about our culture’s ability to raise awareness and find solutions, just as we’ve done with recycling. There’s a tremendous amount of good that can be accomplished. I love hearing that you’re approaching this issue from a corporate perspective and applying business strategies to what we’re discussing. Now that you’re part of this organization, we all have goals for what we want to achieve.
What do you envision for the last mile in the next five years?
I have great hope that we will eliminate food insecurity in Cincinnati. We’re aware of the meal gap, which means pounds of food can be translated into meals. Despite the solid foundation established by our food bank and other agencies that have been combating food insecurity for a long time, there is still a gap that government donations and programs cannot fill. However, if we rescue just a quarter of the wasted food, we can close that meal gap and eradicate food insecurity in Cincinnati. We’ve been operational for two years and are currently rescuing 3.5 million pounds of food annually. That’s a significant achievement, providing much-needed food to those who need it the most. I firmly believe that within the next 5 to 7 years, we’ll be able to proudly declare that we’ve eliminated food insecurity in several parts of Cincinnati. You know what? I genuinely hope you achieve it. I believe you can. I also hope that governments at all levels, from local to federal, are paying attention and drawing inspiration from your efforts. It’s possible for other cities and neighborhoods to close the meal gap and eliminate food insecurity. There’s no doubt about it.
One thing we haven’t talked about yet is how do you do it? How do you do a food rescue?
We have an app. That’s the magic behind what we’re doing. We’ve put technology behind the problem, and a volunteer can see what’s out there in our community, what rescues they can pick up. They get step-by-step directions from the point of inception of the food. So the donor provides directions on how to get to them, what they’re giving away, and where the volunteer needs to take it. It’s a very user-friendly way for people to enter this space and do a food rescue. Every community can put some kind of technology in place to solve this problem, and that’s what we’re doing here in Cincinnati. Thank you for pointing that out. So there’s an app for that. Within the app, we have organizations and agencies that can receive the food, showing a need. There are donors, and then there are volunteers who connect the two for food rescue. That’s what my company does. We’ve identified all the food donors and provided mapping and matching instructions in the app. It makes it very easy for volunteers to get involved, no matter if they’re free on a Monday morning, a Friday afternoon, or somewhere in between. They can download the app, find a rescue that fits their schedule, and make a difference in their community. Wow, that’s another way people can get started. If you’re in the Cincinnati area, you can go to our website, sign up. I looked at the website and became a volunteer, so thank you so much.
Thank you for all the work that Last Mile Food Rescue is doing. I’m excited to see where you are next year and five years from now. Perhaps we’ll talk again.
Thank you, Monica. It was great to talk to you today.
About the Interviewer: Monica Sanders JD, LL.M, is the founder of “The Undivide Project”, an organization dedicated to creating climate resilience in underserved communities using good tech and the power of the Internet. She holds faculty roles at the Georgetown University Law Center and the Tulane University Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy. Professor Sanders also serves on several UN agency working groups. As an attorney, Monica has held senior roles in all three branches of government, private industry, and nonprofits. In her previous life, she was a journalist for seven years and the recipient of several awards, including an Emmy. Now the New Orleans native spends her time in solidarity with and championing change for those on the frontlines of climate change and digital divestment. Learn more about how to join her at: www.theundivideproject.org.
How Eileen Budo of Last Mile Food Rescue Is Helping to Promote Sustainability and Climate Justice was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.