CFR x RECIPES: A Food Recovery Study

Happy May, CFR Network! This month we are excited to share about a study that our volunteers have been participating in. We have been working with Morgan State University, in partnership with other universities and food rescue organizations around the country, to study the role that volunteers play in the food recovery scene. This study is titled “Driving Change: Volunteer Management and Engagement in Food Recovery Operations.”   

We reached out to our contact Corey Welcher, a research scientist at Morgan State University, who has been working with us and our volunteers to collect data for this study. We asked her to share a little bit of background information about the study and the work they are doing. Read on to hear what she had to say!  

“Wasted Food Research Network (RECIPES) is a research network bringing together over 40 researchers and 15 institutions connected with organizations working across the food system to advance the science needed to make our wasteful food system sustainable, equitable, and resilient. Launched on October 1, 2021, the first five years of our work are supported through NSF award #2115405.  

The food recovery system is reliant on a network of volunteers who recover, repackage, and distribute excess food. This project investigates the role of volunteers in food recovery operations in urban environments in the United States by utilizing survey data, interviews with the Community Food Rescue (CFR) team and transportation data modeling to assess the following:  

•  Identify what motivates volunteers and the personal costs they take on  

•  Measure transportation-related emissions from food recovery activities  

•  Evaluate how volunteer labor contributes to and influences food recovery operations  

Why Community Food Rescue (CFR)?   

In reviewing potential data partners, the research team identified Manna Food Center’s CFR program for its broad scope, strong community reach, and use of ChowMatch—a data-gathering tool that connects surplus food with volunteers for redistribution. The ChowMatch tool contains information needed to assist us with understanding transportation trip-mapping for food recovery as well as the quantity of food donated and rescued in the CFR program.  

This particular research team includes doctoral students, post doctoral researchers, and research staff from three institutions with backgrounds in food systems, environmental science, and transportation. We aim for our research findings and recommendations to support the Manna CFR program by providing guidance on environmental sustainability, specifically in relation to food waste mitigation and the transportation impacts of food recovery.”  

Corey shared with us the timeline of this research progress and where the team is at.  

“Progress to date:  

• February 2024- July 2024 Research Team established, literature review conducted, Research study approval submitted and accepted by Morgan State University.  

• August 2024 research partnership established in accordance with our network’s guiding principles and community norms which attempts to ensure the research conducted supports Manna’s CFR program without being extractive.   

• March – May 2025, two volunteer surveys designed, reviewed, distributed, and comments received.  

• May 2025- Survey results presented to Manna CFR leadership.   

Next steps:    

May- July/August,   

• CFR program staff interviews  

• Analysis of survey results and CFR data findings and recommendations given to CFR program staff”  

We are so excited to participate in this research study and learn more about the impact our volunteers have on the food recovery scene. Special shoutout to all of our active and inactive volunteers who filled out this survey – thanks!! 

If you want to learn more about this project, you can check out their website and follow along on Instagram!