One person can inspire the formation of a Pioneer Team and begin the process of creating a new Refood Center (4 phases composed of 20 steps).
Serving the community
The human bridge that Refood builds between excess and need is a simple and direct sequence of actions carried out by volunteers that unfolds in three consecutive processes: Collection, Preparation and Distribution.
The core objective of a Refood Center is to establish a productive and sustainable process of collecting, packaging and delivering high quality rescued food that will serve the community for many, many years.
Guarantees the rescue of food in perfect condition from our partners (preventing it from being thrown in the trash). Refood volunteers collect all the good surplus food our partners have to offer, passing by each at just the right time.
Ensures that each family pack has what is needed: lovingly composed meals for each person, fruit, vegetables, bread, yogurt, milk, dessert – but nothing that goes against any dietary constraints that the family might have.
it works as a friendly exchange – the full family pack of freshly prepared food is Delivered in exchange for the individual food packages we delivered the day before. Our food support is free for our beneficiaries, but we always recycle the packaging to respect our sustainable, circular economy.
CREATING A NEW REFOOD CENTER
Anyone (maybe you!) can present the idea of starting a Refood Center to friends, family and / or community members. After contacting Refood (National or Global), a Refood Pioneer Team can be formed. Very soon, the new team will start to rescue food on a small scale, handing it over to partner institutions and publicizing their work on social networks.
It is time for the Pioneer Team to invite the community, personally, and in public meetings, in order to increase the number of volunteers. Soon it will be time to investigate the neighborhood where the team intends to operate, identifying potential sources of food, support partners, social partners, sources of volunteers and possible operational centers. Internally, the team will organize according to the Refood model and develop their action plan (to be carried out over the next phases) – throughout this process, the team will continue to rescue food, feed people in need and document their work.
The team chooses its operational center (as always, by consensus or by vote), implements its plan, invites partners to help remodel the chosen space and to acquire and install the necessary equipment for full operation. Next, the team will identify and invite the closest food source partners, identify the first direct beneficiaries, plan training sessions and hold a second public meeting to inspire new volunteers and partners to join in preparing the new Center for operation.
With the operational center ready, the food source partners involved and the first direct beneficiaries identified, the team can define their inauguration day and their first day of service. The full volunteer team will be formed, online and in person, and the entire community will be invited to the public inauguration. Operations will begin, the volume and impact will grow and soon others will ask how they too can open a new Refood Center in their own neighborhood.
