Detroit Feedback Loop

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Detroit Feedback Loop was started in 2017 by a couple of Wayne State University students who saw an opportunity to make a difference in their city. As a food-desert, Detroit's population of individuals experiencing homelessness struggle to find sustainable sources of nourishment. Moreover, the food they do have access to tends to be fast food, highly processed meals, and overall they lack the proper nutrients that can be found in fresh produce or well-prepared dishes. Poor nutrition is a major contributor to this population’s elevated rates of diabetes. Furthermore, health disparities such as decreased access to affordable health care and poor health education exacerbate this health condition and others related to it. It’s comparable to a snowball rolling down a snow-covered mountain; each issue building upon the next until the collection of problems become an unstoppable, cyclical force continuing to spiral further into the depths of poverty. Poverty is by no means solvable by one or two kind acts, but rather a multitude of purposeful acts that collectively could give those struggling a chance to fight the uphill battle. These acts can level the playing field, allowing people to break the cycle of poverty.

My classmate, Camilla Cascardo, and I started Detroit Feedback Loop (Named after the biological feedback loop) after learning that the University’s campus cafeteria threw out any leftover food, both prepared and fresh. We found this concerning because there were warming shelters and soup kitchens a few blocks in any direction of our campus that could use that food. We saw an opportunity to connect excess food to those who needed it the most. Not only would this reduce food waste and all the negative environmental impacts waste has, but it also provided fresh produce and prepared meals loaded with a diverse array of nutrients to people who did not already have access to it. Our little operation started off with us and some of our friends driving leftovers from the cafeterias a few times a week. However, the more we stopped at shelters to deliver food, the more apparent the need became. I ended up leading an expansion, working with local stakeholders to make Detroit Feedback Loop a 501©3 non-profit. From there, Detroit Feedback Loop partnered with other incredible organizations such as Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners Community Food Bank to meet more specific needs within Detroit. We were able to fill a specific niche of need, delivering prepared or highly perishable meals the same day. Other food rescuers used large refrigerated trucks that did not always have the capacity to stop for smaller loads of food from individual restaurants and bakeries. We were able to get food from places all around the city that would otherwise waste quality prepared meals and baked goods.

Beyond bridging a gap between excess food and need, we also provided Wayne State University students with an opportunity to engage with their community. By creating leadership opportunities in Detroit Feedback Loop and maintaining a completely student-led volunteer force, young adults can interact with the community around them and participate in solving a variety of health disparities. One immediate act can change today, but educating will impact future generations to come. Hopefully, their experiences with Detroit Feedback Loop will turn into them creating their own acts of kindness in their communities. To date, Detroit Feedback Loop has connected over 54,000 meals to the impoverished individuals across Detroit. The organization works with numerous partners in the Detroit area and has been awarded the Sparky Anderson Youth in Philanthropy Award. As campuses continue to open up, Detroit Feedback Loop will continue to grow and serve as a bridge connecting excess food to those in need, as well as connect students to the community surrounding them.