About this project

ReCater is a campus-based, SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) initiative that equips universities with simple, student-friendly infrastructure to prevent food waste and reduce climate impacts. The project builds and deploys a two-part solution: (1) a mobile platform that lets authorized event organizers post time-bound “pickup windows” for surplus catered food—keeping the food at the original venue and within the original reservation to respect safety and liability contexts—and (2) a light training program that teaches students and staff how food waste drives emissions, how to run safe, compliant pickups, and how to quantify impact. ReCater converts an everyday pain point (leftover food at talks, meetings, and club events) into a consistent, trackable diversion pathway that feeds students and avoids methane-producing landfill disposal.

The project directly supports food-insecure students and advances institutional sustainability goals. Posts include clear rules (no homemade food; first-come, first-served; short pickup windows) and campus-approved language. A built-in emissions calculator estimates CO₂e avoided from food diverted, giving sustainability offices credible numbers for ESG/AASHE reporting. Engagement features (opt-in SMS nudges, points, and leaderboards) make participation visible and fun without requiring cash prizes.

This action pairs product deployment with community education. We table near campus foot-traffic, run micro-activities (e.g., “feel” an average meal weight, CO₂e food quizzes), and invite students/staff to a 60–90 minute workshop (in-person or live-streamed) that blends evidence-based curriculum on carbon and waste with practical campus workflows. Data from the app and workshops—posts, estimated pounds diverted, CO₂e avoided, attendance, pre/post quiz gains—enable continuous improvement and transparent reporting.

By focusing first on Ohio campuses (including HBCUs and food-pantry hubs), then expanding nationally, ReCater demonstrates how a low-friction tool plus targeted education can help higher-ed institutions cut waste at scale, strengthen basic-needs support, and grow climate-career interest among students—delivering durable SDG 12 outcomes that last beyond the project period.

Goals and Objectives

Goal 1 – Reduce campus food waste and associated emissions.
Objective: Stand up a compliant, student-friendly pickup workflow so surplus catered food is diverted to students instead of landfilled, with transparent, conservative CO₂e estimation per post.

Goal 2 – Strengthen basic-needs support.
Objective: Increase timely access to prepared food for food-insecure students through on-campus, last-mile redistribution that respects university risk policies.

Goal 3 – Build environmental literacy and climate-career interest.
Objective: Deliver short workshops and micro-learning that explain the food-waste→methane→climate link, practice measurement, and spotlight sustainability roles in higher-ed and beyond.

Intended beneficiaries.
Primary: food-insecure students, student organizers, and sustainability staff. Secondary: broader campus community through reduced waste costs and improved ESG reporting.

Why they were chosen.
Universities routinely generate event leftovers yet face legal/operational uncertainty. Students experience both food insecurity and a desire for tangible climate action. Aligning these needs advances SDG 12 efficiently.

Sustaining impact & replication.
After initial deployment, universities sustain the workflow via campus SSO access, admin dashboards, and reusable training assets. The model is replicable because guardrails (venue-bound pickups, standard language, verification, reporting) are universal, and the analytics align with widely used sustainability frameworks.

Expected result

R1. Waste diversion & climate impact (Specific, Measurable, Time-bound).
Within 12 months, facilitate at least 600 surplus-food pickup windows across partner campuses, conservatively diverting 30,000 pounds of edible food from landfill and avoiding an estimated ≥100,000 pounds CO₂e (tracked by posts, servings estimates, and standard factors).
Achievable/Relevance: Based on typical event volumes and a cautious adoption curve at multiple campuses.

R2. Access for food-insecure students.
Log 8,000+ student pickups across all events, with opt-in pulse surveys indicating ≥70% of pickups served students who identify as budget-stressed or food-insecure some of the time.
Measurement: Post-pickup micro-poll (anonymous), plus periodic SMS mini-surveys.

R3. Environmental literacy gains.
Train ≥300 students/staff via workshops (in-person or live stream). Pre/post quizzes show ≥25% average score increase on food-waste/climate concepts; ≥60% of participants report increased confidence in calculating impact.
Measurement: Standardized pre/post assessment embedded in sessions.

R4. Operational adoption.
At least 6 departments or student-governed bodies (e.g., student centers, sustainability offices, catering, housing) adopt the standard pickup language and signage; ≥4 add diversion summaries to term ESG/AASHE/STARS reporting.
Measurement: Admin sign-off, copies/screenshots of reports.

R5. Equity and reach.
Ensure ≥30% of workshop participants are from historically underserved groups (first-gen, Pell-eligible, international students, or students at HBCUs/HSIs); and conduct ≥4 tabling days adjacent to basic-needs hubs (e.g., on-campus pantry).
Measurement: Anonymous demographic opt-ins and site logs.

R6. Continuity & scale.
By month 12, secure 3+ MoUs or subscription commitments for continued use; publish a campus playbook (signage templates, duty-of-care checklist, reporting how-to) to support replication.
Measurement: Signed agreements; publicly shared playbook link; post-project plan for maintaining the workflow.

Monitoring capacity.
The app logs posts, estimates, and red-flag reports; workshops track attendance and quizzes; SMS tracks engagement; monthly roll-ups verify progress against the above targets.

Partners
About me / organisation
Genesis Richards

Project lead: Genesis Richards (Founder, ReCater) – a Business & Economics major with a Computer Science minor who designed and built ReCater’s working prototype and outreach program. Genesis has completed entrepreneurial training (Tinkham Veale–Barbara R. Snyder Fellowship; NSF I-Corps customer discovery) and has led multi-stakeholder conversations with student affairs, dining, and sustainability leaders to shape a compliant, student-first workflow. As the technical and program lead, Genesis coordinates product improvements, campus trainings, measurement, and reporting.

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