SWIFT is elminating food waste at IC 1 step at a time

10/05/15

Stop Wasting Ithaca's Food Today, also known as SWIFT, is one of the hidden gems of Ithaca College's student organizations. SWIFT ensures that IC dining halls' excess food does not go unused. Every Friday at 4PM, SWIFT members congregate in Towers Dining Hall to take leftover food and save it for future use. The student organization's adviser, Towers Dining Hall service manager Brandon Innerst, takes an active role in the organization by helping students with packaging and storage materials. Every week, SWIFT ends up distributing anywhere between 20-60 meals by bringing them to Rescue Mission in the Ithaca Commons.

SWIFT's success is also largely in part due to contributions from its president, junior Kate Zasowski ('17). Zasowski joined the student organization in the spring of her freshman year, citing its cause as a strong motivator for getting involved. "I loved the mission. The food would be thrown out anyway, so why not give it to someone who needs it?" After learning that SWIFT's entire e-board would be graduating in 2015, Zasowski offered to take over the role of president so the student organization could continue to thrive. "It doesn't take up a lot of time but it makes a major difference." Zasowski also recruited some of her friends to join the executive board as well. Juniors Maris Krauss, Alex DiStasi, and Sam Menair now contribute to the SWIFT executive board as Vice President, Secretary, and treasurer, respectively. 

Despite SWIFT's massive success, their general body size is anything but massive. In fact, the student organization takes pride in having very small meetings, with usually less than 10 people in attendance. Though Zasowski and the SWIFT executive board love their intimate settings for meetings, they are always welcoming new volunteers and stress that there is "absolutely no commitment". In the future, SWIFT is looking to expand its efforts by collaborating with other student organizations and eventually organizing an event in IC Square. If you would like to get more involved with Stop Wasting Ithaca's Food Today, check them out on Facebook or stop by one of their meetings every Friday at 4 in Towers Dining Hall!

For more information on SWIFT and other student organizations accomplishments please read the latest Club Hub: http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=11c84e5ec6f26f2614200d44e&id=f3144ba763&e=ecb1866b97.

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https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20151005154741117