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Two Birds, One Stone is a group of concerned NYU Students dedicated to feeding New York City’s hungry and homeless and reducing landfill waste — hence 2 Birds 1 Stone.
The "birds" in this equation is NYC’s hungry and homeless and landfill waste. The "stone" is the food prepared at our campus dining facilities that can not be carried over to another meal service but is still wholesome, nutritious and can feed an individual who would otherwise go hungry.
By picking up each facility’s useable leftovers we will reduce waste in dumpsters, our city’s landfills, and serve local soup kitchens and shelters with a valuable resource.
How it Works:
Several volunteers are assigned to each involved dining facility for pick up on a certain day of the week. We currently operate out of Weinstein and Hayden’s dining facilities. The program runs Monday through Friday, and the time for pick up each day is yet to be determined. There is one volunteer supervisor designated the point person for each dining hall and will be available to review procedures and discuss concerns at request. Also, the volunteer supervisor will be responsible for checking the dining hall to see if food is available for pick up. There will be some days when the dining hall will not have food available for pick up.
Each dining hall facility is provided with aluminum half pans and lids and small aluminum take-out containers. Useable food is then transferred into the appropriate container and labeled indicating:
- Food item(s)
- Date of preparation
The food is then placed in a designated area of the dining hall facility’s freezer and held until the next scheduled pick-up. Labels will clearly indicate FOOD DONATION on top so there is no worry about accidentally recycling the food back into service.
Volunteers then pick up the food and deliver it to participating organizations in the city. Transportation of the food is accomplished via walking and NYU bus service.
What kind of food can be donated?
The established guidelines are:
- Food that is fit for human consumption
- Food within expiration date
- Food that has been refrigerated or frozen within two hours of preparation
Food that should not be donated:
- Food that has been served or "set out"
- Spoilage (past expiration date)
- Table Scraps
- Food Preparation Waste
- Leftovers
- Food that may be deemed unsafe because of age, appearance or unknown handling
- Food containing a lot of liquid (liquids are heavy and often spill from the aluminum pans)
What about Liability?
On October 1, 1996, President Clinton signed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to non-profit organizations for distribution to needy individuals. This law makes it easier to donate food.
Each recipient (soup kitchen, shelter) of donations in our structure has signed a hold harmless approved by ARAMARK indicating their non-profit status (as required in the act) and their further release specifically of ARAMRK and its operators from any action.
All volunteers are trained in food handling safety before engaging in donation collections at the dining hall facilities.
Execution of Program:
The launch date this year is slated for early November. Two Birds One Stone site supervisors will provide each dining hall facility with a food donation kit, which contains:
- Aluminum half pans and lids
- Aluminum take-out containers and lids
- Labels
- Sharpies
- Two meat thermometers
- Large nylon shopping bags for transporting donations to agencies
- Carts to help transport large donations
The site supervisors and volunteers will monitor and replenish stock levels as they are depleted.
Getting involved:
If you would like to get involved in the program, please send an email to twobirdsonestone07@gmail.com with the information listed below. In addition to securing a volunteer position for the intended date, this will also place you on our listserve so you can know about any further developments regarding the program.
Name:
Net ID:
Cell Phone Number:
Residence Hall:
School:
Dates you would like to volunteer:
Plans for Future Development:
We hope to grow Two Birds, One Stone to other dining hall facilities and organizations throughout the city. We also hope to develop a more efficient transportation service to deliver the food. Please look out for future developments.
General and Contact Information:
Administrative support for this initiative is provided by Lisa Kail and the Office of Civic Engagement.
If you have any questions, please direct emails to twobirdsonestone07@gmail.com.
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