About US
Our Mission:
To provide stakeholders with sustainable “triple bottom line” solutions to end wasted food and food loss in Maine. “Triple bottom line” solutions are those that deliver consistent economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Our Story:
In 2015, the Maine DEP identified eliminating food waste as the single most important issue to ensure a sustainable materials management system in Maine. The Senator George J. Mitchell Center Materials Management team took on this food waste challenge.
In 2019, the Food Rescue MAINE team was officially launched by the Materials Management team to develop and pilot stakeholder-driven solutions for wasted food and food loss in Maine.
The Food Rescue MAINE team is a transdisciplinary research team that develops stakeholder-driven, sustainable, “triple-bottom-line” solutions for wasted food & food loss following the Maine Food Recovery Hierarchy.
- Stakeholder-driven: All our Mitchell Center research is developed to meet the needs of our Maine food system stakeholders – e.g. the farmers, food producers, processors, retailers, distributors, charitable food providers, hospitality, hospitals, schools, composters, educators, governments, and more.
- Transdisciplinary: We know that complex problems require insights from a variety of backgrounds, ages, and fields of study. That is why our team includes a diverse group of faculty and students.
- Research: We study local, national, and international food waste research and “best practice” solutions and then work with our stakeholders to develop pilots that will allow us to track & measure successful and scalable food waste solutions for Maine.
- Sustainable Solutions: We understand that truly sustainable solutions must provide three benefits – economic, social (e.g. health, nutrition) and environmental – the “triple bottom line”.
- Maine Food Recovery Hierarchy: We recognize that there is a hierarchy of potential food waste solutions – first reduction, then recovery, then recycling – all solutions ARE NOT created equal.
Our Resource Partners:
Faculty Advisors:
Meet Our Current and Previous Interns
Student Interns:
Current Interns:
Kathryn Busko
Ecology & Environmental Science and Journalism
Undergraduate student, UMaine, Class of ’27
Megan Sauberlich
Economics Undergraduate student,
UMaine, Class of ’26
William Brenneman
Anthropology & Environmental Policy Graduate student, UMaine, Class of ’26
Past Interns:
AY 2023-2024
- Estephanie Baez-Vazquez
- Bianca Strader
Summer 2023 Interns
- Estephanie Baez-Vazquez
- Jess Cleary-Reuning
AY 2022-2023 Interns
- Tamra Benson
- Kate Flynn
- Andrew MacMaster
- Hannah Mathieu
- Eddie Nachamie
- Halle Rogers
Summer 2022 Interns
- Hannah Mathieu
AY 2021-2022 Interns
- Ryan Fitzmaurice
- Ariana Walker
- Hannah Crayton
- Kalina Kinyon
- Hannah Mathieu
- William Dunham
- Ellie Hunt
Summer 2021 Interns
- Priyanshu Bhatta
- Kalina Kinyon
- Hannah Mathieu
- Gabrielle Sands
- Elyse St. Pierre
Spring 2021 Interns
- Zachary Gagne
- Hannah Crayton
- Riya Mokashi
- Asher Close
AY 2020 – 2021 Interns
- Dominique DiSpirito
Summer 2020 Interns
- Sara Gundermann
- Emalia Eichelberger
AY 2019 -2020 Interns
- Katie Tims
- Stephanie Ayotte
- Peter O’Brien
Our Stakeholders:
Agricycle
Allagash Brewing Co.
Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments
Augusta Food Bank
Bowdoin College
Casella
Catholic Charities Maine
Center for EcoTechnology
Central Maine Gleaners Group
City of Portland
City of Waterville
Congresswoman District 1 Chellie Pingree
Cultivating Community
Cumberland County Food Security Council
Ecomaine
Food Corps
Garbage to Garden Compost Service
Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine
Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF)
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area/Maine Farm to Institution
Hospitality Maine
Jordan’s Farm
Kennebec Valley Community College
Lewiston Public Schools
Luke’s Lobster Restaurant Group
Maine Brewer’s Guild
Maine Community College System
Maine Dept. of Conservation, Agriculture, and Forestry
Maine Dept. of Corrections
Maine Dept. of Education – Nutrition
Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection
Maine Farmers for Food Equity
Maine Farmland Trust
Maine Feeding Partners (MEMA)
Maine Food Convergence
Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association
Maine Health
Maine Municipal Association
Maine Network of Community Food Councils
Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association
Maine School Nutrition Directors Association
Maine Science Festival
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Northern Light Health
Penobscot McCrumb LLC
Pineland Dairy
Pineland Farms – Produce Division
Portland Council of Governments
Portland Public Library
Portland Public Schools
Preble Street Soup Kitchen Food Hub
Readfield Public Library
Scrap Dogs Composting
Skowhegan Public Works
SNAP Educators
Sodexo
Southern Maine Planning & Development
SYSCO
Thomas College
Town of Readfield
Town of Winslow
UMaine Dining
UMaine Farmington
UMaine Office of Sustainability
UMaine Cooperative Extension
University of Maine System
University of Southern Maine
University of New England
Waterville Public Library
Wayside Food Programs
We Compost It!
Wild Oat Café & Bakery, Brunswick
Winslow Public Library
Want to learn more about the research that supports this work?
