From poetry-inspired jewelry to a sustainable alternative to the red solo cup, many of our fellow Brunos have been using the extra time on their hands during quarantine to launch their own businesses and organizations. This week, we’d like to turn your attention to The Farmlink Project, founded in part by a group of ambitious Brown students who wanted to make an impactful difference in the world. In this interview, you’ll hear from Ben Collier, one of Farmlink’s founders and the leader of its core team.
First and foremost, what does The Farmlink Project do?
Our mission is to address both food loss and food insecurity. These are huge systemic issues that have been exacerbated by COVID-19, but that have existed for decades and aren’t going away when the pandemic ends. We contact farmers about whether or not they have surplus or unmarketable produce, and then work to deliver it to communities who need it the most. Since April, we’ve moved over 13 million pounds of farm fresh produce to communities in need in over 40 states.
Can you tell us the story behind its founding? How did the idea come to you?
There were tons of articles throughout March and into April about farmers facing massive surplus as a result of the halted commercial food industry. At the same time, there were just as many articles about food banks facing the highest demand they had seen in decades. We realized that, in a way, those two problems solve each other. One place has too much food and one place doesn’t have enough.
How large is the organization? What are the different teams and what do they do?
Right now, the organization is made up of about 150 students and young people from around the country. We have four main teams. The first focuses on fundraising and finances. The creative team works on storytelling and outreach. The platform team works on how we can better connect farmers and food banks in the future. Our last team, and the team that I oversee, is the core pillar, which focuses on food sourcing and food placement.
What is the most frequent food that you guys transport? The most unique?
We’ve moved well over a million pounds each of milk, potatoes, and onions, and have had a lot of unique pick ups from papayas to mangos to goat milk. My favorite was the goat milk pick up, which we delivered to a prenatal unit.
What is the biggest challenge the organization has faced thus far?
I think our biggest challenge has been making decisions in an area that we’ve never had to make decisions before. Everything we’ve done has been trial and error, and thankfully we’ve learned enough from our errors for everything to work out thus far and bring us to this point.
Farmlink has gotten an impressive amount of media attention, from ABCNews to the Washington Post. What has this experience been like for you?
The media exposure has been amazing for helping to build our community, and we’re grateful for it. I’ve just been focused on playing my part.
We saw that you recently established a partnership with Gordon Ramsay. How awesome! Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Gordon Ramsay is one of the most powerful people in the entire food industry. We’re looking to educate people on issues surrounding food waste and food insecurity, and he has the reputation and the following to help us do that. Being able to team up with him is a major step towards getting the type of community involved that we think can make a meaningful impact.
Juggling school work and Farmlink responsibilities is no easy feat. How have you been able to manage?
I would be lying if I said my attention to detail on my school work hasn’t taken a hit. When I wake up every morning, I think about Farmlink first and school work second. Thankfully, being a senior and having finished my concentration, I have the capacity to spend more time focused on Farmlink. Juggling an internship and Farmlink over the summer prepared me for what was to come this fall.
What does Farmlink hope to accomplish in the next few months? And the next few years?
Hunger and food waste aren’t going anywhere, even if COVID does, so neither are we. We’re going to continue working to improve the quantity of food that we’re able to move and the impact of the deliveries we make. In the bigger picture, we hope to address more underlying, systemic issues, like why there is such food waste and food insecurity to begin with.
How can we get involved?
It’s meaningful for people to follow us and join our community, and I encourage anyone who has an extra hour to give to join our Power Hours. That’s where we research and call farmers, and it’s a central part of the process that has led to everything we’ve done so far. You’ll be working alongside myself and the rest of the Farmlink team.