Off the Road: with Mikayla Lydon

I’ve been the Marketing u0026amp; Communications Manager at Spoonfuls for about 1.5 years now! Somehow, it feels longer (in a good way)!

My job is to help tell Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ story so people can learn about who we are and our food rescue work. That takes many forms, but I spend the bulk of my time creating content for and managing our digital platforms, like our social media, email newsletters, website, and blog. Writing this feels a bit like breaking the fourth wall!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy job frequently involves collaborating with other departments, too, whether that be working on a fundraising event with Development staff or creating reference materials for our vendor and nonprofit partners.

The most gratifying part of my job is really believing in what we do every day and knowing that it matters. We waste enough food in the US to feed every American facing food insecurity for a whole year – u003cstrongu003ethree times. u003c/strongu003eAnd at the same, the climate emergency continues to worsen, which alongside natural disasters and rising sea levels, could have a big impact on u003ca href=u0022https://civileats.com/2022/02/28/the-field-report-new-un-climate-report-paints-a-stark-picture-for-food-systems-but-solutions-exist/u0022u003eglobal food production.u003c/au003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFood rescue alone won’t solve the climate crisis or hunger. No one solution will. But it’s an important part of building a stronger food system, and I appreciate its triple bottom line u003ca href=u0022https://spoonfuls.org/our-impact/u0022u003eimpact.u003c/au003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOh, and I’d be remiss not to mention the people! From my coworkers to our vendor and nonprofit partners, it’s fulfilling to work among this group.

I’m not sure I can pick just one here. In so many of my conversations with partners this year, the running theme has been seeing increased demand. After everything they had endured in 2020, they’re now fighting supply chain challenges and inflation to again meet increased demand (check out the latest from u003ca href=u0022https://www.projectbread.org/hunger-by-the-numbersu0022u003eProject Breadu003c/au003e). I’m inspired by their resiliency and dedication.

I’ve always loved making things, whatever that means. From the 10 years I dedicated to playing flute to the weekends I dedicate to cooking and baking, growing my window sill herb garden, taking my camera outside, crocheting a blanket, etc. That part of me often dreams of homesteading. I wonder if some of that would become less enjoyable if it was my day-to-day, but it’s fun to think about!

My real answer is good planning, but knowing not everyone has my planner’s heart, my second favorite way is food storage! Storing food the right way can really make a difference in its shelf life, and gives me flexibility if I don’t eat everything the day I originally planned to.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI won’t say too much here because we have a blog coming up on this topic, but I’ll leave you with my favorite tip: Don’t store your potatoes and onions together! Onions release a gas (ethylene) that will cause potatoes to spud faster.

My favorite category of food is noodles – Italian, Asian, etc. It’s all good to me!