In the Driver’s Seat with Christy Wright

As a Food Rescue Coordinator, my day starts with a travel mug of hot tea or coffee, plus a sealed thermos of more for later in the day. I choose a soundtrack, set the GPS, and hit the road in Dolly, our truck that serves East Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Revere, and beyond. We’ll load up the truck with food from various vendors, like grocery stores and wholesalers, before heading to Spoonfuls’ nonprofit partners, including food pantries, social service programs, and other organizations. Once all of the food is distributed and the truck is empty, we head back to the lot, completing the day with the recognition that people who might not have had food on the table in the morning now have access to good food that would have otherwise gone uneaten.

I truly believe that food is sacred, and so are people and the planet. It just makes sense that access to good food is a human right, not a privilege. We honor human dignity when we ensure everyone has what they need. It’s a joy to work in u0022bridging the gap between abundance and need,u0022 because it truly does affirm the sacredness of life across the board – the sacredness of food, of people, and of the environment.

Here’s a tip for reducing waste that I’ve used for years and a super exciting new-to-me tip. That tiny bit of jam/jelly left in a jar? I like to make vinaigrette right in the jar. Try it out by adding your vinegar of choice, oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of mustard to aid in the emulsion. And for the new tip, just the other day, I learned you can make a whiskey sour to use up the last bit of jam in a jar too! Just add whiskey, a bit of lemon juice, ice, an egg white, shake, and that’s it. Raspberry for this sounds amazing. Don’t mind me while I eat 16 oz. of jam with a spoon to get to the bottom of the jar to try this!

Cooking for one can be complicated and often leads to unintentional food waste (especially as someone who gets bored of leftovers). So I’ve been batch-cooking and freezing individual portions for easy meals months down the road. Additionally, produce that’s nearing its end of life (i.e., a bit spotted, bruised, or wilty) can easily be cooked or prepped and frozen for future use.

I really appreciate the late Anthony Bourdain’s philosophy of authentic travel and love for different cultures. He never turned his nose up at anything (except tourist traps), and his honest presence at the table opened up the potential for conversations and relationships that otherwise would have never been possible. I’ve been inspired to try so many new things through Bourdain’s own journey, and I have a deep curiosity for food culture because of Bourdain.

I love telling people about the work we do at Spoonfuls, particularly in meeting with new vendors or beneficiaries. I was part of the team that worked on putting together our second MetroWest route, which launched on November 14 of this year, and I loved connecting with organizations across the MetroWest area. The folks I talked with were super curious, and it was a joy to help onboard them for the new route.

I loved visiting Land’s Sake Farm with another FRC, Zach, this past summer. It was so exciting to pick up such vibrant, fresh produce, which we gave to a nonprofit partner down the road, who appreciated it immensely!