SPOKANE, Wash. — A senior at Lewis and Clark High School took his passion for helping others and turned it into a club aimed at feeding hungry students while reducing food waste nearly one year ago.
Josh Hechtman applied for a grant that would help fund the club “Reproduce 81.” Students drop uneaten food in bins instead of trashcans, which is then given to students in after-school programs who often go hungry.
“Food waste and hunger is starting to become more of a known issue, but still many people are not aware of it, so to get that awareness in is really important to me,” he said. “And to get that education of the damages food waste does to the environment and how it’s a social, economic and political impact is really important to me.”
When Hechtman launched the club, he and other members collected about 136 pounds of food – equivalent to about 109 meals – in just three weeks.
Now, Hechtman has expanded his club to two other schools in District 81 and is working toward nonprofit status.
Hechtman also spent the summer working on food pantries for community colleges in the Spokane area as part of a prestigious internship.
He also traveled to Washington, D.C. as one of only 300 students in the nation to attend the Bank of America Student Leader Summit, where he spoke with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Sen. Maria Cantwell about creating solutions for hunger and food waste throughout Washington state.
Beyond his community work, Hechtman is a gifted athlete and scholar. He is in the running for starting quarterback for the Lewis and Clark Tigers’ football team and takes college-level math classes.
Right now, Hechtman is tackling his next big task: applying for college. He says he is keeping his options open for now.