Volunteer Spotlight - Olivia Downey

August 2025 - Olivia shows how easy it is to take action against hunger!

For Olivia Downey, volunteering with Keep Austin Fed is only the latest step in her work to reduce food waste and insecurity. After graduating from high school, Olivia completed an internship at Unity Gardens, a nonprofit that uses community gardens to combat the effects of food deserts. Her experience working with the organization provided an introduction to issues that would soon become her passion.

“I thought ‘Wow! Food deserts are a real issue, climate change is a real issue, and nutrition is a real issue.’ The intersection of these issues has been a personal, professional, and academic interest since that point.” 

In college, Olivia earned a degree in sustainable food and farming systems. Learning about the production of food influenced her understanding of sustainability and reinforced her interest in food access. “The food system is so off balance,” said Olivia. “How do we shift it to a more balanced, holistic system and also treat people fairly and justly in the process?”

After finishing her degree and moving to Austin, Olivia discovered Keep Austin Fed while looking for ways to give back to her new community. She was drawn to the level of involvement that Keep Austin Fed offers to volunteers and the wide variety of food rescues available. 

In her seven months as a volunteer, Olivia has completed more than 70 rescues and adopted three early morning runs. She has also formed relationships with the food donors and recipient partners she meets each week and used her rescues to establish a routine in her new city. “You’re moving somewhere, and everything is new. There’s no sense of community yet,” said Olivia. “But [volunteering] is a commitment to these people that you’re going to show up every day as well as a commitment to yourself.” 

For Olivia, rescuing food provides both an opportunity to engage her interest in food access and an avenue to address the large-scale problems she sees in the world. “It’s such a unique and accessible way of making a difference,” said Olivia. “Everything is so messed up. And it’s like ‘Well, I can do this.’ It’s helping in my small corner of the world.”