Regina Harmon - Who is Running America's Largest Food Recovery Movement?

[00:00:10] Dominique: Welcome to green Champions. 

[00:00:12] Christy: Thanks for joining us in a conversation with real people sharing sustainability success stories.

[00:00:16] Dominique: This podcast is a platform for green champions to share their stories and plant new ideas. I'm Dominique.

[00:00:22] Christy: And I'm Christy.

[00:00:22] Dominique: Today we are joined by Regina Harmon, the CEO of Food Recovery Network, which is a national nonprofit and the largest student-led movement fighting food waste and hunger in the US. So today we're talking about sustainability as it relates to food recovery.

Thanks for being here, Regina.

[00:00:39] Regina: Thanks so much for having me. It's such a pleasure and honor.

[00:00:43] Dominique: Yeah, you are awesome. I am so, so excited. I want to tell you first that I was very tangentially involved with our Food Recovery Network when I was in college. So that's gonna come up today and I'm really stoked about it. But let's talk about you. Where did you grow up? Like where is home for you?

[00:00:59] Regina: Yes. So I am a New Englander through and through. I was born in Massachusetts and I grew up in Maine and I lived there for a long time, went to undergrad there. And then I lived in Pittsburgh for seven years. I went to grad school in Pittsburgh.

And the longest place that I have lived has been in the DC area, so DC proper for over a decade. And I currently reside in Alexandria, Virginia, but definitely a Mainer as origin.

[00:01:23] Christy: So it sounds like the Northeast has your heart a bit. Why is that? Tell us more.

[00:01:28] Regina: Yes, I very much identify as a New Englander. I write about it quite a bit just in terms of, you know, some of these experiences that like, I call it the living and the breathing experiences that shape who we are. And I know there's a lot of regions all across the United States that has some of these similar identifiers.

And so for me, specifically, you know, with being a New Englander, we're very self-reliant. Growing up, my stepdad would be the ones to, change the brakes on our cars and, you know, if anything broke in the house, he'd be the one to fix it, that you sort of figured out solutions to your problems that you might be experiencing.

So that very much, you know, resonates with me. And then growing up in Maine, something that also really I feel as identifier, very early on I became very connected to our planet, to the earth, to mother earth. And so growing up in Maine, our natural resources were just so important to how we lived our daily lives, whether or not you lived in the city or if you were in a more rural area. I remember just growing up, having a cloth lunch bag that was like super popular, to have something like that, to sort of symbolize your support of the earth by not being so wasteful with, one-off paper bags.

So just caring for the environment is something that, you know, I really feel like I got because I grew up in Maine. Yeah, so it's, it's great. And then there's a little bit of the whole, you know, being a New Englander where we're very much like just say it like it is. We're very direct. And I feel like sometimes New Yorkers can associate with that.

You know, we're all kind of, again, in the same area of, not necessarily New England, but. So that's something where, you know, you can get to other parts of the country and you just like kind of say it like you think that it is and people are like, oh my, there's a lot of, pearl clutching.

So,

[00:03:06] Christy: So when you say pearl clutching, I think the south where I grew up, but pearl clutching happens in New England as well. Good to know.

[00:03:15] Dominique: And Regina, it's so cool to hear where that spark was found for you with the environment, but I know you also speak a lot about like history and power and the role of your voice. Is there also a pinnacle moment or some history to when that started also showing up for you in a big way that made you want to be active and talking about those things?

[00:03:36] Regina: Yes. Thank you so much for that. It's a very personal story for me, very much my lived experience, which is so I grew up in a mixed race household. My stepdad is black, my biological dad is black. My mom is white. And growing up in Maine at that time, you know, this was like the eighties into the nineties. It was the whitest state in the union, and it toggled between, you know, Maine and Vermont, New Hampshire. So to this day, I've never had, an African American teacher. And so just being in a space that was very much surrounded by people who are white, being of a mixed family, that was just really not the norm, not very well represented at all. And then growing up, in the dominant culture, you know, how do we tell our stories about who won, who has a voice? I, again, just didn't see a lot of representation about like, what my family looked like or just, you know, brown people in general, that were not sort of characterized.

And so, that always stuck with me growing up and then learning about this thing called the US Census where you could only check one race. And I just remember as a young person just being like, that is so unfair. That is so, that is not, why do I have to choose this thing and what do I choose? And just really being so adamant about the unfairness of that. So, as I got older, understanding how we create race to maintain certain systems of power became very important to me. And actually, I went on to grad school, as I mentioned, when I was in Pittsburgh to study just that.

And I now, as an adult, very much talk about learning to unlearn, to widen my aperture of knowledge, to include voices that were intentionally left out, voices that I didn't know at the time were being intentionally left out, or again, being watered down to fit a very specific narrative about, what it means to be here in the United States.

So that is all so important to me. when I think about quite frankly, who's suffering here in the United States and how can we help? So why do we position this to have means others must suffer. And so that, very much is tightly wrapped into how I think about treating our lived environment, treating mother earth. So again, it all kind of combines with my lived experience, with the environment and then, how can we improve people's lives so they can thrive, improve how we are interacting with our natural world.

[00:05:54] Dominique: Yeah, and I was just gonna add a funny anecdote, but that reminded me of a family dinner one time with, I have three siblings. And we realized, we all checked that box differently. 

[00:06:05] Regina: Yes, yes.

[00:06:06] Dominique: And we were, we got in, a pseudo argument about what the correct box is and yeah, I just can relate to that dropdown was stressful. 'Cause I wasn't trying to lie, but I didn't know what the right answer was and so that's just, I think there's a subset of people who relate to that and a subset who would be like box.

[00:06:25] Regina: Yes. No, that is so true. That is so true, Dominique. And it's so funny, my sister too would check a totally different box than me. So the environment, you know, nature versus nurture, you know, we lived in the same household, and she's three years older than me and just had so much of a different experience than I did growing up.

So yeah, people don't understand now, you know, that you choose as many as apply, or having multiracial as an option that was just never there. Another conversation, Dominique, when we dig into this stuff a little bit, you know, further, now I do know because of all the research that I do, you know, as a academic nerd here, how actually being able to choose more than one race sometimes has a detrimental effect in particular to our native communities who are often, you know, multiracial at this point because they were the original groups here.

And then over time, you know, across intermarrying and things that, in terms of keeping sovereignty, how you identify can sometimes have that, as I said, that detrimental effect. 

[00:07:20] Dominique: Yeah. That's so interesting. I also wanted to just comment that I really liked how you kind of started to scratch it. I'm gonna paraphrase it probably a little bit poorly, but like you scratch this idea of the culture is around give and take. And so you can really find yourself being really stuck at one end of that spectrum. And I recently had a friend talk to me a lot about like reciprocity. And there's so many good books about the ways that nature models that for us. And it's a really nice circular moment back to like why nature is so important and how people like us I know connect so much with that being our passion.

And, it's nice when nature can like help, talk you through why what you're experiencing with society is like so frustrating or confining. So I just like that you brought that up. And 'Braiding Sweetgrass,' for example, I think is a great book for talking reciprocity. And does that harken back to you going back to food of you have such passion for these voices that are not heard and the way we talk about, power in society.

Can you kind of connect us back, how does that connect or relate to the same things we see with our equity around food?

[00:08:23] Regina: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we as a people, and then I think for me, again, as my lived experience, must always focus on the most vulnerable among us. The most vulnerable among us is an indicator of what we care about, what we value, it's an indicator of our health overall. And we, in this experiment that is the United States, there are so many historically, in day one, vulnerable populations that have endured. And I will say endured in two ways, endured in the sense that these vulnerable groups have never gone away.

And you know, as I was saying, as I studied in grad school, how we redefine and Toni Morrison will remind us that the definition is in the hands of the definer and not the defined. So we will change certain groups to maintain power as opposed to we could change certain groups to help further, to be more inclusive. So endure in that way, in the sense that we've always had groups that we've allowed to suffer. But on the other side of that is endured in the sense that resiliency, there have always been groups that have been targeted and they have endured, they have thrived. And I like to talk a lot about that in my writing, in my thinking.

Any one group, any one, you know, population that are systematically forced to endure. Have joy, have art, share, and I think that that is something that the dominant group sometimes doesn't have to really necessarily think about so much. Where does creativity come from? Where do the blues come from? And so I think that sometimes in the hardship, there are gifts. There are gifts. And I think for me, when we, maybe a more common sort of way to approach that would be during COVID, and everyone who's alive right now experienced COVID, understands what that means.

The day in and day out hardship, and being afraid and uncertain. But then there were so many gems that we received during this difficult time. And so, yeah, I like to think about enduring in both of those kinds of ways. So I think there's a lot of work to be done. There's a lot of opportunity for us to help support, Again, back to your point, before, Dominique, about history, you know, when we understand our history clearly, and again, these voices are so important to get that bigger picture, that more focused picture, that more nuanced picture. We can understand how we got to where we are today if we do want to try to get to a different and better place for the future.

[00:10:51] Christy: One of the things I'm curious about is it makes sense to me naturally based on how you grew up, how you see the world. Was there a defining moment or a point in your life that you said, this is where I can see food and food access being where you wanna focus?

[00:11:12] Regina: Mm-hmm. I realized my life's purpose when I was in college. You know, I grew up in a working poor family, we did not have a lot. Going to college was not in the cards for me, in a, you know, made that happen. And when I think about how that happened, it was people all along the way helping to support me, in big ways and in just, you know, those random acts of kindness kind of ways.

And so when I got to college, I realized that there was this thing called the nonprofit sector, where, oh my God, you could have a career helping people? Sign me up. I literally have never turned back. And I have the obligation, in fact, to continue to learn as much as I can so that I can be as effective as possible.

And so my life's work is actually towards anti-poverty work. Again, when we think about our most vulnerable, who's fighting for the most vulnerable, and including the most vulnerable themselves are fighting for themselves. So I made the connection with food when I think about, you know, anti-poverty work. I started with Food Recovery Network over 10 years ago now, and the idea was this for me, when we can all agree that people deserve food. And for the most part, people do agree with that, and I think that unfortunately there are some people who might have some buts at the end of that, which is, you know, not awesome. But if we can't agree that everyone deserves food, that is, I think, a beautiful bridge into a valley of abundance of, well, what else can we say that people deserve?

Simply because they're here, simply because they're human. And I think that food and all the history and the stories and the connectivity that is wrapped up in the morsels that we consume is a really wonderful way to begin those kinds of conversations, those heart opening conversations. No matter who you are, no matter what your life experiences are, no matter you know, what your political beliefs are, it can really help get us to maintaining that human first.

[00:13:08] Dominique: When you were in college and started to get really passionate about food access, can you explain how it was introduced to you? For listeners who might be kind of like, I might care about that, I might not understand it. Can you just kind of explain food access a little bit?

[00:13:24] Regina: Yes. So, when we think about access, I just love that word of access, accessibility. Where do I go for, what is the pathway towards? Do I drive there? Do I walk there? Is it delivered? Access. And so for me, in college, being a younger person, so again, working poor family, then I became a working poor adult.

And just sort of struggle was always part of the equation for me. And when I joined AmeriCorps, which was how I first learned about this thing called the nonprofit space, I saw a lot of my savings actually sort of dwindle away, so that I could participate in this thing.

And I finally got to a place where, you know, as an AmeriCorps member, they encourage you to use SNAP benefits so that you could have food. And there's a whole lot that I could say about AmeriCorps and the stipend that people receive as a way to help AmeriCorps members connect into the communities in which to serve.

I don't think poverty wages is one of them. So that was the first, you know, sort of entry point for me is like, you know, I now had this benefit that was so looked down upon, and I felt a lot of, I think the only word for it was shame. I needed this thing, I felt so awkward using it.

I know growing up my grandmother had food stamps through the actual paper. You know, we are looking, hey, all spotlight on you, food stamps. And so, that was a moment for me where I really, again, began to think about access for, fill in the blank, for me. Food, housing, education, without shame, without transaction, without proof. And so that was definitely the seed for me, in terms of, we have so much abundance that then we just put up these literally human made barriers to that access. So I think that's probably where it started.

[00:15:09] Dominique: And going back to college, I mean, college was a pivotal moment for you. So you've talked about the fact that this spark was started for you around food access. You've mentioned AmeriCorps. What did you study at school?

[00:15:22] Regina: Yes, so I studied English literature for undergrad, and I loved it. And this was, you know, a long time ago at this point where, you know, it makes me so sad today to hear that the Humanities are not as valued because for me it completely opened up my whole entire world, to such beauty, just by studying literature, and then therefore art that goes along so often with literature, music.

[00:15:47] Dominique: That's not the thing people might think you studied, you know, given what you do day to day. Can you share a little more for someone who might not know your day-to-day as well and might not know what your English studies gave you? Like, how do those skills show up for you today? 

[00:16:01] Regina: Oh my gosh. Absolutely. I think it was James Baldwin who said, you think your suffering is so individualized until you read a book. Whew.

[00:16:11] Christy: That's a great quote.

[00:16:12] Regina: It's like, that ain't nothing new. Through my literature journey, studying English literature, there's a few things that help me in my day to day. And part of that is critical thinking. We hear about this a lot, and the many debates about AI and using computers in school for like little kids and how we are literally changing our brain chemistry.

And so I didn't have any of those things, you know? So for me, a background in the humanities is critical thinking. You have to prove what you're trying to say. And so we just got trained in that deeply. you can't say something like, and I tell my team this all the time, hunger is the number one issue facing the United States today. Who said? Where is that? That's a good idea, but you have to back that up. How are you going to back that up?

Then also with the Humanities deep focus, the ability to just stay in it when you have to read four to seven books in a week, you really need to, you know, stay focused and you cannot flitter around. And so even though, you know, you might have that knee jerk reaction to like, oh, I just put two pages, I need to walk around. Just really relaxing and getting into it, hugely important for me. And then the creativity of how I now see my Humanities background, as the many lenses of which I see the world. I do relate the world with books. I do relate to the world with music. I do relate to the world with art.

And so, I think being able for me to pull those resources into how I have designed Food Recovery Network over these past 10 years, my background in Humanities was extremely necessary to be able to be successful. And then going on to grad school, I studied literary and cultural studies.

That was my degree, my master's degree. And so studying culture, what a broad term. So being critical, and again, to bring in James Baldwin is so funny. He said, who best to be able to criticize the United States than me? And so it's not always like a, from a lens of being critical 'cause it is also a lens of, look how beautiful this is. Look what we've been able to create. But truly, again, as somebody who is trying to protect the most vulnerable in my day-to-day life, there is a lot of, we are trying to understand what is not working, how can I make this better?

And so having that deep academic, rigorous, understanding of the history of how we structured things, how we lie to ourselves to be totally honest, which is funny. How we lie to ourselves to be totally honest, how we lie to ourselves to create power, and how those lies that we've told ourselves. Even, 1776, even 1619, how those lies show up today and how we continue on carrying those lies with us to justify how we treat other people.

So that's how my academic background has shown up. So I always say everyone, literature is so important. 

I love that. And I just actually, like, if we weren't recording a podcast, I would just sit with that for just a minute, you know, because that's so great. I don't even know if I can say it the way you did, but literature allows us to see ourself in others and be in those places, 

[00:19:16] Christy: One that really stood out to me is people deserve food. I like that. But what I like you said next to is food can be a bridge to a valley of abundance. And like you said, fill in that blank. Food deserve, people deserve blank and blank can be a bridge to a valley of abundance. 

[00:19:33] Dominique 2: I just think even just the fact that you connected from like your love of the Northeast and the world around you to the ways that maybe the community wasn't, showing up for you. I think it's really beautiful that that has sparked a way for you to show up for others.

Like that is not the response every person has in that kind of situation. And so that's like very inspiring, I think, and really awesome to see how you've connected dots for things that were sticky spots for you and you've turned them into strengths in your career. And I also wanna make sure we just like, queue up, talk about the Food Recovery Network. You hinted at it a little bit, and just so that we're now gonna wrap up and then head into our next episode about the Food Recovery Network and the impact you've had, could you tell listeners a little bit about just the mission of the organization, and why it is so special and then we'll kind of get into more of that next time.

[00:20:19] Regina: I love that. Yes. So why Food Recovery Network is so special is the idea, the concept was started by young people. And so when we do think about sticky situations that we all face in our lives, having an idea of here's how I can make something better for, at this point now, thousands of people, is truly a special sauce, especially when it's powered by young people at the front lines.

When I think about so many amazing movements all around the history of the United States, around the history of the world, young people are so often at the front lines. Again, being that bearer of how we can treat one another. So, very excited to talk more about Food Recovery Network.

[00:20:56] Dominique 2: And how can listeners support you or connect with the work that you're doing? Maybe websites or social platforms.

[00:21:01] Regina: Yes. Oh, please do connect with us, Our social media is so fun. Our website is foodrecoverynetwork.org. So we call it like we see it, foodrecoverynetwork.org. And then on Instagram, we're @foodrecovery. And then we also are on Facebook as well. And we're on LinkedIn. And so if anybody ever needs a dose of inspiration, definitely go to our social media because there's so many incredible student leaders who are conducting food recoveries. I mean, we conduct the food recovery every single day. And so they, the pictures, the videos, I do think provide that hope and that inspiration of like, there's food right now that is being brought to people who need it. Beautiful thing.

It's a beautiful thing.

[00:21:42] Dominique 2: Thank you so much, Regina. This was so fun.

[00:21:44] Regina: Thank you.

[00:21:45] Christy: Each guest brings a different approach to sustainability. We are here to highlight the people doing the work that inspires others because climate action takes many forms.

[00:21:53] Dominique 2: As always, you can find our episodes and support the show at thegreenchampions.com. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow, subscribe, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn and Instagram, @greenchampionspod. Our music is by Zayn Dweik. Thanks for listening to Green Champions.

We'll be listening to the second half of Regina's story next episode.