Evan Ehlers, founder and director of Sharing Excess, spoke to students on March 16 about “Using Surplus as a Solution to Scarcity.” Launched at Drexel University in 2018, Sharing Excess addresses the crucial need for food by delivering regular surplus from grocery stores, restaurants, wholesalers, and farmers to communities in need.

Ehlers created Sharing Excess after realizing he had fifty meals left in his college dining account with only two days left to use them. Rather than letting the meals go to waste, he decided to swipe them all out, pack them in his car, and drive around Center City Philadelphia, giving them to anyone who needed food. Today, Sharing Excess delivers an average of 100,000 pounds of food each week.