Her Campus: What’s your year and major?
Natalie Jellison: I am a senior at Chatham University with a self-designed major in Environmental Justice.
What made you choose Chatham?
I chose Chatham because I fell in love with the atmosphere as soon as I was on campus. I loved how it looked with the architecture and character of the buildings as well as how it felt like a community. Everyone knows and gets along with everyone, there is a lot of support. It felt like home.
What’s your favorite thing about Chatham?
My favorite thing about Chatham is how supportive everyone is. Not just the students, but from my experience the administration backs what students want to do when they see how passionate you are about what you’re doing.
What is 412 Food Rescue and how did you get involved?
412 Food Rescue is a local non-profit that is about two years old now. I first heard about them in a sustainability class taken on campus. That was in the spring of 2016. Then in the Fall of 2016 I had some free time so I decided to become a volunteer. I became a regular volunteer that did a food run every four weeks. Once I learned more about the organization from volunteering with them I posed the question, “why doesn’t Chatham donate unserved, leftover food from Anderson?” I ran with the question and decided to make it happen on our campus. Mary Whitney, Courtney Blood, and Jen England and Hana Uman from 412 Food Rescue made our Chatham Chapter a possibility.
What do you think are some of your greatest triumphs since you’ve been involved?
The greatest triumph was that Chatham University has started donating food so we as an institution have lessened our waste.
What is your favorite things about 412 Food Rescue?
My favorite thing is what they stand for. They are making huge impacts in the community and saving thousands of pounds of food from going into landfills. They are solving two problems. 412 is feeding the hungry as well as stopping food from wasting away in landfills to play a release CO2 and play their role in climate change.
Do you plan to stay involved with it and/or similar organizations post-grad?
I have already turned over the 412 Food Rescue Chatham Chapter to a first year Carleigh May so it will live on after I graduate. Once I have my career path figured out I hope to return to the organization as a volunteer. Unless I find myself getting a job there since I did intern there last semester.
How can other students get involved?
Other students can get involved by volunteering with the Chatham Chapter or participating with the non-profit directly.