Volunteer Spotlight- Thom and Matt

10/29/25- Thom (left) and Matt pose for a photo together during Keep Austin Fed's volunteer social at Deep Roots Garden.

Volunteering for a cause you are passionate about can be an excellent way to get to know your community and meet people. For others, however, volunteering can be a way to strengthen and deepen already-existing friendships.

Thom and Matthew first met five years ago in Austin while collecting food donations. Soon after, Matthew learned about Save the Food from an acquaintance who rescued food for the organization. He met Allen, the organization’s founder, and began volunteering himself. Thom joined not long after.

Their work with Keep Austin Fed began in 2022, when Save the Food merged into the organization. Since then, they’ve each taken on weekly shifts, Wednesdays for Thom and Mondays for Matthew, helping cull, sort, and organize donations. They thoroughly assess the quality of each item of food that arrives at Keep Austin Fed’s hub before preparing boxes for community partners and local giveaways.

In addition to helping Keep Austin Fed stay organized, Thom and Matthew say that their food sorting shifts have helped them learn about agriculture, sustainability, and food systems. “Particularly the conversations with Allen, Shade, and Louis,” says Matthew. “It’s always kind of eye-opening.” “This is a huge learning experience for me,” adds Thom. “So I’m grateful.”

Both Thom and Matthew were inspired to volunteer because of the impact they could have through rescuing food. “I thought well, this would be a pretty good way to take action,” said Matthew. “Taking arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them,” added Thom, quoting Hamlet. “The quality of the people involved, and the quality of the actual enterprise is really, really good.”

Although the friends enjoy giving back to the community and learning about sustainability, both admit that their favorite part of volunteering is the exchange of ideas that happens during their shifts. “You’d be surprised, sorting food can really spark conversation,” said Matthew. “The quality of the people is the main thing for me because you can’t waste life,” said Thom. “Every time I turn up and have a conversation, I find more depth in people. Just like I found depth in my friendship with Matthew.”