Food Rescue MAINE Sumner Internship Program
Supported by the Sumner Scholarship Endowment Foundation
Food waste is one of Maine’s most pressing issues. It is a symptom of a failing food system with major
economic, health and environmental impacts affecting all Maine people. Food makes up the single largest component of our municipal waste stream at 30%. And while the majority of that food is good and edible, almost all of this wasted food goes into our state’s landfills.
2024 Sumner Interns
Megan Sauberlich, Economics, UMaine
Megan spent the summer on a project in partnership with the Northern Light Health Care System to track and measure wasted food and food loss in the hospital sector. Working with economics researcher Travis Blackmer, Megan is developing a system to collect key food waste data that will generate economic, health/nutrition, and environmental benefits for one of Maine’s largest health care providers.
“We’re really trying to get stakeholders to be curious about the process and educating them about how it might be beneficial to them in the long run,” Megan said.
Megan didn’t know much about food waste when she started the position, but once she started the work and learned more about Food Rescue MAINE, she saw how it related to her studies and her interests.
“So many could benefit from tracking their food waste, but there’s a gap in understanding and awareness of the numbers. I thought my major could help highlight the financial aspect of food waste in Maine,” she said.
Kathryn Busko, Ecology & Environmental Sciences, UMaine
As the communication and education intern, Kathryn is working to educate the public about food waste through the Food Rescue MAINE website and social media program.
Kathryn said that her main strategy is to make food waste education accessible and digestable by posting “bite-sized chunks,” of information to help Maine consumers reduce their food waste. She is particularly proud of the educational posts she has made for the Food Rescue MAINE Instagram (@foodrescuemaine) which has greatly increasing the number of followers.
“One of the most difficult parts of trying to communicate about food waste is that
a lot of people don’t realize that they waste food,” Kathryn said. “I think that says a lot about how we see our waste and how visible it is to us. My goal is to make food waste part of Mainers’ everyday awareness and action.”
2023 Sumner Interns
Estephanie Baez-Vazquez, University of Maine
Estephanie is a fourth year Psychology major with a focus in developmental psychology. Beyond her studies, she plays the alto saxophone in the UMaine’s Screamin’ Black Bear Pep Band and also work in the Sacred Heart Research Collaborative’s Attachment Theory Workshop. Estephanie has lived in Maine for the last 16 years and she’s passionate about keeping her home sustainable through helping solve the challenge of food waste.
Colin Smith, University of Maine
Colin is studying Environmental Science and Economics at the University of Maine. He is from northeast Connecticut and enjoys hiking, camping, and everything else outdoorsy. He wanted to take this internship because it was a great opportunity to practice what he’s been learning in his classes in a real-world setting. Trying to work towards a more sustainable future is always something he strives for personally!