Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” But today, most people are clicktavists (clicking “Like” on something and feeling like an impact has been made), and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) continues to go out of their way to avoid meaningless chatter, instead pushing for real change.
NAR has partnered with the Food Recovery Network (FRN), a national nonprofit that unites students at colleges and universities to fight food waste and hunger by recovering surplus perishable food. The partnership will donate excess meals from their conferences and meetings to local food banks, and they’re asking the 1,200 local and state Realtor associations to “take the pledge” to “multiply the effort.”
Announced at the annual Leadership Summit in Chicago, NAR CEO, Bob Goldberg said, It is exciting to see State and Local Association Executives and incoming Presidents step up to fight hunger in their areas. Taking the pledge to participate is one example of their commitment to serve the less fortunate. Showing compassion for people in the communities we serve is how we ‘Own Who We R,’” referencing the “That’s Who We Are” campaign.
“Giving back to the community is the right thing to do, and I am proud that NAR members have a long history of helping their neighbors,” Goldberg said in a statement. “We hope this effort will inspire other associations, organizations, businesses and individuals to fight hunger in their local communities.”
FRN has already recovered 3.9 million pounds of food, donated 3.2 million meals and prevented 7.4 million pounds of CO2 emissions since 2011.
The partnership started earlier this year, when FRN staff designed and executed a food recovery plan for NAR’s Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C. On the final day of the event, two lunch events were unexpectedly canceled. However, thanks to the food recovery plan, 85 meals were donated to Charlie’s Place, a hunger-fighting nonprofit in D.C.
“We look forward to partnering with NAR and the entire Realtor® family to make food donation a regular part of their events and meetings. We make it fast, easy and simple for organizations to donate surplus food to people who need it the most,” said Regina Anderson, FRN Executive Director. “Our two organizations share the goal of making food recovery – not food waste – the standard at real estate industry events.”
NAR hotel and convention partners will collaborate on food recovery, and FRN will verify the effort at NAR’s largest annual event for real estate professionals, the 2019 REALTORS® Conference & Expo, which be held this year from November 8–11, 2019, in San Francisco. An estimated 20,000 people will attend the conference.
We look forward to reporting back with all of the associations that join the movement!
In the era of lazy clicktavism, NAR is leading by example. Gandhi would be proud.
