Food Recovery for RI

06/18/2026

We are so proud of our partnership with the Tomaquag Museum’s Indigenous Empowerment Center! Laurel Spears, the Indigenous Empowerment Coordinator at the Tomaquag Museum took the URI Food Recovery Course in 2024. In 2025, we collaborated on two food preservation classes for Rhode Island’s Indigenous Community!

Did you know that we partner with over 18 local organizations? We match graduates to support their food recovery projects, train staff and affiliates, engage partners as instructors, and more! Is your organization our next partner?

Applications for the Fall URI Food Recovery Course are open until August 1, 2025. 🔗 in bio!

Our 6-week course = online learning + hands-on field sessions. Designed for everyone from working professionals to retirees, you’ll choose between evening, weekend and daytime options. The course aims to connect participants with local organizations to rescue surplus food, help others stretch their food 💵, and create more compost.

You’ll gain skills in harvesting, saving $ at the grocery store, food rescue, food storage, canning, pickling, dehydrating, freezing, composting, community engagement, and networking opportunities with professionals from various food system sectors.

Join our community! Open to all Rhode Islanders 18+. Also open to nearby residents willing to volunteer here! The course is $255. Scholarships available.

We are a program of translating research-based solutions into practical knowledge.

06/12/2026

Nobody tells you this about adulting.

We weren’t taught how to preserve food, store it, or return it to the earth - we lost that knowledge along the way.

You don’t have to figure this out alone.
You can learn it, and be part of something bigger.

🌱 Our 6-week URI Food Recovery course combines online learning + hands-on field sessions

🥕 Learn food rescue, storage, canning, composting, and more

🤝 Build community + connect with local organizations

Apply by August 9, 2026 for our Fall URI Food Recovery Course.

More details and application at web.uri.edu/foodrecovery

06/11/2026

Real change starts with real people, and Maurice is proof of that. As a class of 2025 alum of our Food Recovery program at URI, Maurice didn't just learn how to recover food, he learned how to help change lives with it.

From composting on his farm to being able to reach people in food deserts, he learned through our course and turned it into action for his community. Maurice’s story is a reminder that food recovery isn't just about reducing waste.

Food recovery is about feeding people, sustaining the earth, and building a more equitable Rhode Island. 🌍

Over 400,000+ lbs of surplus food have been donated since 2021, and it's because of people like Maurice that this number keeps growing.

Food waste doesn't discriminate- and neither does the solution. Whether you're a farmer, educator, chef, student, or interested community member, there is a place for YOU in this movement.

🌿Apply for 6 week course today! Early acceptance is open until July 1. Open to all Rhode Islanders 18+. Also open to nearby residents willing to volunteer here! The course is $255. Scholarships available.

Join us today and help us make real change in the way food in our communities gets recovered.

We are a program of translating research-based solutions into practical knowledge.

06/09/2026

We'd love to have you in class this fall!

KINGSTON, R.I. – June 3, 2026 – Applications are open for Food Recovery for Rhode Island at the University of Rhode Island, a community education program offered through URI Cooperative Extension. The six-week online course includes field experiences that can be completed at participants’ conv...

06/03/2026

Curious how we make this beautiful compost?!
Jayne will walk around with you touring the farm fields, compost operation and even showing you a glimpse inside a drop of compost through the microscope. It’s one hour that heighten your sense of wonder! 10 am June 5. Registering through our website helps us plan!

05/28/2026

Compost Tip Thursday!

Did you know composting helps reduce landfill waste while improving soil fertility at the same time? But how, and when, do we use compost in our gardening practices?

Swipe through for some helpful composting tips, and gardening guidance from a Food Recovery for Rhode Island graduate and Master Gardener Program Intern, Charlene Traynum!

05/26/2026

Are you looking for a way to make a difference? Apply to the Fall URI Food Recovery Course today! This 6-week program runs mid-September to end of October.

Designed to fit your busy schedule, it is a great way to take action for the environment. Take action in schools, at events, in food pantries, and more as you learn from innovative organizations in our state.

Many of our graduates have gone on to gain employment in the field. All gain access to continued learning and group volunteer opportunities through our service learning community.

Apply by July 1, 2026 for early acceptance and the best chance to receive financial support. Application link: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUDrvsk3mRvtsvGme8rdHtxfD13KlXPX1BWitx47i_1d6YDg/viewform

How it works:

1. Learn
Complete our customizable 6-week course

2. Experience
Rescue food & minimize waste through volunteer and paid internships

3. Engage
Be a part of community-led change

05/21/2026

Friends don’t let friends waste food. Had so much fun and learned so much at our first summit!

Incredible work being done across the country. Loved seeing our national collaborators. The food was 🤌🏼.

Especially proud of the RI representation !

Loved sharing our program model and our plans for expansion! Thank you to the Extension Foundation for your incredible support and enabling our attendance.

05/19/2026

5 years of impact, growth, community, and sustainability 🌱♻️

We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported the Food Recovery for Rhode Island initiative over the past five years. From our volunteers and partners to every individual helping us reduce food waste and fight food insecurity. What originally began as an idea rooted in community, education, and food equity, has grown into a statewide movement. We have helped create real food system changes across Rhode Island and beyond.

Collectively, over the past five years, we have:
• Diverted more than 520,000 pounds of wasted food from landfills
• Recovered and donated 400,000 pounds of surplus food
• Inspired meaningful behavior change in hundreds of participants
• Built a growing network of community changemakers across the state

We especially want to thank our amazing donors, , , .doughnuts, , and for their generous donations and support in helping us celebrate this milestone!

The most inspiring part of this journey has been seeing alumni, volunteers, educators, and community partners continue this work on farms, in schools, food pantries, neighborhoods, and communities throughout Rhode Island. As Food Recovery for the Future expands nationally across more than 30 states, we’re excited to continue building a collaborative, community-driven future for food recovery.

Here’s to 5 years of food recovery, local impact turning into national impact, and many more impactful years to come ♻️✨

01/10/2026

How long should you store leftovers & ready-to-eat meals? Store on top shelves for easy access; most leftovers are good for 3–4 days in the fridge, or can be frozen for 3–4 months.

CENTER FOR FOOD CONSERVATION & WASTE REDUCTION
https://conservefood.org/2025/11/13/ask-the-expert-with-affis-jennie-norka/?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2025_11_CFCWR%20Monthly%20Newsletter&utm_id=0