THIS VOLUNTEER WANTS TO DE-BUG FOOD WASTE

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Arav Chand. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

As an amateur programmer, food waste is one glitch Arav Chand couldn’t wait to debug. A Long Island resident, Arav frequently visited New York City and saw bakeries throwing away perfectly good food at the end of the day. That was a direct contrast to the people Arav would see on the streets living with food insecurity. A computer whiz, Arav described the dichotomy as being like a glitch in the code. To bridge the divide between the two situations, he founded Sweet Surplus, a youth-led nonprofit that donates surplus baked goods to shelters for unhoused populations.

Along with several friends, Arav built a network of bakery partners and shelters where he could pick up the uneaten food and redistribute it to the shelters where it could be put to good use. While many bakeries are nervous about giving away uneaten food, Arav works with them to help them build strong relationships and even created tax incentive documentation to help partner businesses boost their annual revenue by 7.5%.
Arav is now a senior in high school with a busy class schedule, but he still dedicates around 15 hours a month to making deliveries, reaching out to new bakeries and growing the Sweet Surplus network with new students and volunteers who can be brought into the mix to help even more people. Thus far, he’s redistributed over $40,000 worth of goods to people in need. When Arav goes off to college next year, he’s not too sure yet what he’ll study. However, he knows that it will likely be related to the lessons he learned in making an impact through his volunteer work. His mission to help others is an example that anyone can carry forward in their own community.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

If you take a walk in Manhattan around 4 pm, you’ll see something that’s super contradictory. Some bakeries will be throwing away trash bags that are brimming with perfectly good food while there are hungry people on the sidewalk holding signs asking for a New Yorker’s kindness to provide them with sustenance. This is just silly and wrong. It felt like society around me had a glitch in its code. I’m a programmer, so I kind of felt like this could be something I could debug. Sweet Surplus became a patch for the problem, in some sense, taking good food that’s unnecessarily headed to the trash and instead rerouting it to people who need it.

What inspires you to volunteer?

What motivates me every time I make a delivery or redirect the food is the sense of knowing that I’m helping someone. Each meal that I deliver, each stomach growl that I can help satiate is personal fuel to keep going and to keep pushing against setbacks. I want to find any alternate routes to bakeries that would not like to hand their leftovers over and would rather just throw them out. Basically, each time that I’m able to do a volunteer act, it motivates the next one.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Sweet Surplus.

I serve as the co-founder and the NYC branch manager of Sweet Surplus. It’s something that I started with some friends that I met at an International Science Fair in Belgium, Canada and China. Day-to-day on the organizational side, I build the network of bakery partners and shelters, as well as coordinate volunteers and handle the communication, scheduling and delivery logistics. Specifically, I’m reaching out to new bakeries. I’m learning about their surplus routines, how much they have at the end of the day and then match their available food with shelters that can use it that same day, so nothing is wasted. I also am on the front lines, acting as a delivery runner and doing regular pickups myself, going to the bakeries at closing times, collecting surplus bread and bagels, and delivering them directly to the shelter. It kind of lets me see both sides: the logistical challenges of running that effort, but also the human impact.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I’m a high school senior, so I know there’s a concern because it’s being run personally. However, I am making sure its longevity persists after I go to college. I will not let this organization halt. I already set up future leaders to continue organizing and heading this volunteering beyond personally being able to manage it myself while I’m in college. I plan to definitely continue mentoring and helping, but I think it’ll be more fruitful to ensure there’s a group of people that are directly in place at the time to hold it.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I’ve learned that meaningful change usually starts small, with one redirected meal bag or box of food or one partnership between a bakery and a shelter at a time. Through Sweet Surplus, I’ve seen how much food is wasted simply because there isn’t a system to redirect it. Overall, I think volunteering has taught me the power of persistence and the importance of listening to community needs. Also, establishing a connection with each member, and with the homeless shelters and bakeries that are throwing out these goods. That leadership isn’t just about doing everything yourself; it’s about building that network of people who believe in the same mission.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

Change won’t just happen by accident. Somebody has to start to care enough. When we step up for a cause that we believe in, it’s actually turning empathy or feelings into action. That ripple can inspire others to do the same and work alongside you. While one person can make a difference, a community of people who care can solve problems at the root. I think that through working with a dedicated group of people, you not only gain more from different perspectives, but you can also make a significant impact that satisfies a need.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Don’t overthink it. Give whatever time that you can and be willing to learn along the way, because there are definitely parts that I wasn’t expecting or that I encountered along my own journey. Volunteering isn’t about being perfect; it is about being present, being in the moment. You don’t necessarily make that same impact every day. But the real win is how you can just deliver bagels and a smile and follow through with it.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I think the main thing is to consider the everyday activities that we consider normal or take for granted, and really analyze what the situation or circumstances are around them. The most basic human need is food, and that should not be barricaded by financial limitations or other circumstances, especially in a city as densely populated and resource-rich as New York City, but also across the country and globe. It’s just heartbreaking that people could go hungry while perfectly good meals are thrown away at closing time. I think it’s important to take away how you can make a change to what is the norm and make an impact for people who aren’t being helped by that traditional system.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Arav? Find local volunteer opportunities.