Food Waste Heroes: A Mentor Chef & Young Local Activists

When local chef Kip Poole established The CROP Foundation in 2014, his hope was to build a sustainable community of young culinary students and give them knowledge, experience and paths on which to further their careers. In the process, he also sowed the seeds of activism in many of his protégés, including Ure Emejuru and Natalia de los Rios, who grew to become influential change-makers around food policy and advocates for food security.

Emejuru and De los Rios both attended Princess Anne High School (PA) and De los Rios also participated in the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) in Virginia Beach. They participated in The CROP Foundation with Poole and also advocated in their own communities. Today, Emejuru is a sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., studying public health medicine, and is the director of student involvement for The CROP Foundation. De los Rios is a sophomore at Harvard University studying environmental science and public policy with a special concentration in sustainable food systems and works in food and housing insecurity in Cambridge, MA.

At PA, De los Rios was in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and was required to complete a service component as part of the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) strand. Noticing the increase in local food waste, she founded the Virginia Beach chapter of Food Rescue US in 2019. She and volunteer rescuers have rescued over two and a half million pounds of food and redistributed it to those facing food insecurity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, De los Rios and Emejuru, along with dozens of student and community volunteers, distributed food boxes in the Green Run community and throughout the region. 

When they noticed frequent red tape associated with food date labeling, Emejuru joined De los Rios and her ESP classmates, Cayden Braswell and Matt Stanley, to work with Virginia State Delegates Glen Davis and Jackie Glass to introduce a bill to the Virginia State Legislature extending liability protection to businesses donating wholesome food past the “best by” date. It became law on April 8, 2024.

The four students also worked with Virginia State Senator Aaron Rouse to pass a bill allowing those engaged in farming who donate food crops or wholesome food to a nonprofit food bank to claim a tax credit.

Because of their legislative successes, Emejuru and De los Rios were invited to join Zero Food Waste Coalition advocates urging Congress to support the Food Date Labeling Act of 2023 and include it in the upcoming Farm Bill.

Before both of the Virginia bills, many farmers, restaurants and retailers were reluctant to donate excess food past its best by date for fear of pushback, lawsuits or financial consequences. For example, before the renewal of the lapsed tax credit for farmers, there was no financial incentive for farmers to donate the produce that remained in the fields at the end of the season.

“Before just a few years ago, we would have to throw out extra food we had from events,” recalled Poole. “Thanks to Ure and Natalia, we now can happily donate it to food shelters who need it.”

The doors Emejuru and De los Rios opened are especially appreciated by Poole with his extensive history in culinary arts, sustainability and local agriculture activism and his work with The CROP Foundation. Today, as the owner of the popular Yorkie’s Modern Deli, Poole wastes neither time — nor food.

“We have to be on point so there is very little waste,” said Poole. “We try to use everything in some creative way.” End pieces of slicing tomatoes are repurposed into a smoky tomato soup. Peels of onions are slow roasted, dried, ground and added to garlic salt. Peels of lemons and limes are charred and ground into a citrus ash. Apple cores are slow-cooked into smooth apple butter. Extra herb clippings are infused in oil for cooking. Pepper mash from their homemade hot sauce is used to make kimchi.

Poole also joined his students in helping to increase food security. Virginia Beach native and musical artist Pharrell Williams connected Poole with Support+Feed, a nonprofit founded in 2020 by Maggie Baird, mother of Grammy Award-winning artists Billie Eilish and Finneas. Support+Feed is committed to mitigating climate change and increasing food security by driving global demand, acceptance and accessibility of plant-based food. Three different times over the past three years, Poole and The CROP Foundation have created plant-based meals for children in need.

“Recently, we used local ‘ugly’ veggies [produce that doesn’t meet retailer aesthetic standards] to make 100 meals through Support+Feed,” said Poole. “We wanted to get kids involved — kids making meals for other kids. We made tofu katsu curry with mushrooms and sweet potatoes.” The meals were delivered by Support+Feed to kids through the For Kids Foundation.

Poole and his young mentees have big plans to continue their mission. Poole recently put in a bid to take over management of the Croc’s Garden in the ViBe Creative District, and the Old Beach Farmers Market board granted it to him. In the meantime, just as we must let nature take its course in the growth of a plant, the effects of the legislation De los Rios, Emejuru and their classmates passed will need to germinate. “As soon as a law is passed, it takes a while for people to understand the freedom they have,” said Emejuru. “But, the two Virginia policies in these bills can go a long, long way.”