Tommiepreneurs For Social Change

Spotting an opportunity to combat food waste and hunger while working in facilities management as a student worker, Will Pittner '22 has partnered with the University of St. Thomas to redistribute excess food to people in need within the community.

His social startup, Food to People, is an innovative food recovery system designed to alleviate communal food insecurity by transporting surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. Pittner collaborates with institutions producing large quantities of food, with St. Thomas Dining Services being one of his primary collection sites.

"Many people don't even realize that at least a third of all food intended for human consumption just goes to waste," said Pittner. "In our very own backyard in Minnesota, there are over 4,000 food-insecure people. To put it into perspective, that's equivalent to about nine U.S. Bank Stadiums stacked on top of each other.”

A catalyst for social innovation

Pittner, an entrepreneurship major, founded Food to People in his senior year at St. Thomas, but the seed for food waste recovery was planted nearly two years earlier. An entrepreneurship professor encouraged him to enter the 2021 Fowler Business Concept Challenge, the catalyst for getting his company off the ground. His business plan won $7,500 in the social venture track and he later received a grant through the Schulze Pre-Seed Grant Program. 

Pittner is one of numerous Tommiepreneurs creating businesses with a social purpose, some of whom receive funding from the Schulze Innovation Fund. The fund, which supports entrepreneurial St. Thomas students and alumni, has invested over $1 million into Tommie alumni businesses, providing early-stage capital, mentoring, and connections.

A focus on quality and delivery

Food to People's food recovery process involves freezing fully prepared meals to safely preserve unused food. Pittner manages the logistics of transporting these protein-rich meals to various locations, including homeless shelters and churches in the Twin Cities. Though currently a one-person operation, he hopes to expand the team and impact beyond the Twin Cities. "I'm very grateful for the University of St. Thomas to take a chance on me. They were the first people that said yes to being a supplier."