Neel Ghose is the founder of the Robin Hood Army, a zero-funds volunteer-based organization that is using food redistribution as a medium to connect with others and solve for the problem of excess food at restaurants, grocery stores, and other foodservice settings. Through the power of people, Robin Hood Army has scaled to reach more than 400 cities in 13 countries. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with Neel about what inspired him to begin the Robin Hood Army, how he and his colleagues have maintained the mission of the organization as it grows to include millions of Robins around the world, and his advice for “thinking less and doing more.”
Neel Ghose: “I generally feel that food builds trust. If you’re serving someone week on week, month on month, year on year, it ceases to be charity and it becomes more about community.”
01:26 Intro on Neel and Robin Hood Army
07:26 Getting outside your comfort zone
14:04 Founding and scaling the Robin Hood Army
19:00 How to be a leader in a decentralized organization
24:38 Codifying culture, managing conflicts and setting aside your ego
29:50 The “why” and “how” behind a zero-funds organization
32:24 Power of partnerships
34:26 Building teams that drive growth and expansion
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*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer.
What is Food Lab Talk?
A better food system starts with one thing: vision. Food Lab Talk gives global food system changemakers a platform to articulate their vision for the future of food.
The series features interviews with inspiring individuals who are working on the frontlines of many of our most pressing food issues: reducing food loss and waste, enhancing food system transparency, facilitating shifts toward more balanced plant-forward diets, enabling informed individual choices for sustainable lifestyles, and accelerating the transition to a circular food economy.
Join Google’s Michiel Bakker to meet the leaders taking bold action and answering what each of us can do to create a better food system for us all.