MetroWest resident drawn by sustainability mission
NEWTON, MA – Nonprofit food recovery organization, Spoonfuls, announced today that Richard Wilner, Global Head of Strategy and Transformation at BioLife Plasma Services / Takeda, has joined its Board of Directors. Wilner, who leads global environmental sustainability and strategic planning initiatives at BioLife, was drawn by Spoonfuls’ food recovery mission.
“Too much good food goes to waste while too many people go hungry,” said Wilner. “For the last 16 years, Spoonfuls has attacked both problems at once and delivered real results.”
Spoonfuls, New England’s largest food recovery organization, prevented over 6 million pounds of still-good food (the equivalent of 4.8 million meals’ worth) from going to waste last year alone in Massachusetts. Through partnerships with food retailers and brands, Spoonfuls’ team picks up excess and unsold food, with a focus on perishables such as fresh produce, dairy, and meat, and delivers it, same-day, to food and social service programs reaching people facing food insecurity.
Wilner got acquainted with Spoonfuls’ work while earning his Executive MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Business in 2018, where he now regularly lectures, teaches and mentors MBA candidates himself. As part of the university’s “Leading with Impact” program, Wilner advised on the value of food recovery partnerships for retail food donors.
“Rich gets it — he sees recovered food as a resource and food recovery as a service that belongs within the larger sustainability and logistics ecosystem,” said Spoonfuls CEO, Ashley Stanley. “His experience will help strengthen how we operate alongside waste haulers and composters, ensuring surplus food is managed with intention and directed to feed people first.”
Wilner’s is the latest addition to Spoonfuls’ Board of Directors. It comes at an exciting time for the organization, as it continues to deliver on its ambitious strategic plan, intentionally growing its board as it works to meet an increased need for food across Massachusetts.
Currently, food waste is the number one material in Massachusetts’ waste stream. Across the United States, 31% of food – 237 million tons – goes to waste each year (ReFED). At the same time, 1 in 3 households in Massachusetts experiences food insecurity (Greater Boston Food Bank). Spoonfuls works with 300+ partners across the state to prevent waste and feed people.