2025 Award Recipient
MayaPuterman
Project Fresh Opportunities
Project Fresh Opportunities
Maya is the founder of Fresh Opportunities, a student-led organization dedicated to reducing food waste and feeding the food insecure.
Growing up in New York City, Maya witnessed homelessness and food insecurity up close. After the COVID-19 pandemic, she noticed an increase in unhoused people lining the street along her walk to school. Meanwhile, at school, Maya saw a surplus of food go to waste; untouched school lunches were often thrown away due to food regulations. The disparity troubled her, and she was compelled to take action.
Maya worked with administrators and kitchen staff to organize a food recovery event at her high school. There, she and her peers packaged surplus lunches and delivered them to a local community fridge. The success of this effort inspired Maya to start Fresh Opportunities, an official school club that provides people experiencing food insecurity with balanced, dignified meals that would have otherwise gone to waste.
As the club grew in popularity, Maya expanded its reach by mentoring teens at other schools to start new chapters. Fresh Opportunities has grown to nine student-led food recovery clubs across NYC. Student volunteers have recovered 11,300+ meals and delivered them to community fridges, unhoused individuals, and shelters.
An organization working to reduce both food waste and food insecurity by sending surplus school lunches to local community fridges and shelters.
