Meet Gabriella
Gabriella has spent so much time in her principal's office that she’s become best friends with the assistant to the principal. But don’t jump to conclusions—this isn’t about trouble.
It’s the opposite.
Along with her principal, friends, school faculty and “even the cafeteria lady,” Gabriella has been hard at work creating ways students at her high school can take on food insecurity.
“I wouldn’t leave them alone”
“It’s a public school,“ says Gabriella, a junior at the Queens campus of Bard High School Early College. “There are rules, regulations, some bureaucracy, and the whole idea is new. So it took...it felt like forever.”
And yet, Gabriella tells us, smiling, “I wouldn’t leave them alone.”
Her persistence is matched by the persistent reminders of food insecurity and wasted food in the city around them. (This unique school is sited in a refurbished factory building in Long Island City).
“It didn't make sense to me to be just walking to the train station and see people ask for food. And then when I get to my supermarket they'd be throwing out extra produce.“
“Or some (produce) would be oddly shaped and they throw it out because it doesn't fit the beauty standard of, like, a tomato. Just experiencing both these things at the same time didn't really make sense to me.”
Food insecurity and wasted food
“I have to say, my dad has helped me understand these things. He’s always made me think about the connections and how I can apply that to life in the city. …to realize the recurring problems and how everything's interconnected.”
At a school where over half of the student population qualifies for free lunches, the need is there for all to see.
And Gabriella makes sure they see it.
She is a dynamo.
Reducing wasted food
First, she and some friends set up a Share Table, where anyone can access surplus food.
Then Gabriella and friends created a small stand at the school to reduce food waste. There, “teachers and other kids who don't want to ask for seconds, can get more fruit or more snacks just to reduce the wasted food within our own school.”
Neighbors helping neighbors
Now every Friday, Gabriella and friends package surplus food from the cafeteria, and carry it by hand to a nearby food pantry or community fridge. Sometimes if need be, Gabriella makes this trip alone. But it is going to happen.
“Perseverance gets you there”
“At the fridges there's usually a line of people waiting for food, so they're very happy for me to be there.
The 17-year-old has spoken at the New York Hall of Science and other forums. She’s been a speaker at virtual meetings of the Student Food Recovery Task Force. She has spent many a Saturday sorting and loading and delivering free food at Grassroots Grocery’s weekly Produce Party.
“I don't know who's going to see this,” she said to us as we wrapped up our chat, “but I want people to know that it might look a lot harder than it actually is. If you're passionate enough, you'll get it done.”
“It may seem like a distant goal but perseverance gets you there. You might have to lug four bags of meals to this pantry, but just know that it's worth it and that you're helping people out. You're helping the city out. You're getting something done.”