The Inspiration For Second Chance Foods
It's Our Founders Day of Inspiration
How Small Steps Create Big Change
You may remember that we celebrated our 7th birthday in March. While that date marks our beginning as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, it would not have been possible without the passion of our three founders, Alison Jolicoeur, Jean McGee, and Martha Elder. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our Founder’s Day of Inspiration by honoring these women and everything they made possible for Second Chance Foods to accomplish.
"As a person working in wellness and who considers herself a foodie, I thought I was in the know but had no idea [at that time] that 40% of food ends up in the landfill." -Alison
Every thriving garden starts with a single seed. For Second Chance Foods, our seed was planted by Alison on July 20, 2015, after she was appalled to learn about the scope of food waste from an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Alison immediately started researching to find out more about the problem and solutions. She called Jean McGee a few days later and they began planning and working on solutions.
From there, Alison took her passion for helping heal people and the planet and started on a journey to create change locally. She found other organizations that were rescuing food, taking it out of the cycle ending in waste, and instead giving to people in need. She then created the foundation for our grocery rescue program and developed partnerships with grocery stores and hunger relief organizations. These efforts quickly grew and once growing season started Alison began collecting food from local farms which later sparked our meal program!
"Rather than observing the problem from afar, I decided to be a part of the solution! I am passionate about helping to end food insecurity and reducing food waste locally, nationally, and globally." -Alison.
More About Alison
Alison is a Health Coach and Shamanic Practitioner who is also a Homeschooling Mother of a divine daughter. She is the owner and founder of Beacon of Light Wellness which specializes in offering a variety of healing services. As the founder of Second Chance Foods, Alison served on the Board of Directors through 2021. She continues to uplift our mission and support Second Chance Foods whenever she can – including sharing her talents as a musician at our 2022 Harvest Celebration!
"I was so inspired to start Second Chance Foods, especially because we live in a region where there is so much food being grown. It's just a wonderful area to be doing this work because we can provide farm fresh food to people in need." - Alison.
Following Alison's Spirit
Make a Difference Today!
Sometimes change can feel out of reach or too big to try. But we hope you follow Alison’s spirit and take the first step toward making our world better. Are you trying to figure out where to start? Here are some easy ways to support Second Chance Foods or make a change in your own life!
Purchase an item off our Amazon Wish List to help our growing operations!
Share this post with a friend or on your social media to raise more awareness.
Join a community of like minded people who care about food waste, hunger, and the environment.
Make Change At Home with our guide for reducing food waste in your own kitchen.