FOOD MATTERS > RECOVERY
Recovery
Food rescue, also called food recovery, is the practice of saving edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as restaurants, grocery stores, produce markets, and even off the farm floor! -and distributing it to local emergency food programs.
Recovered food is edible, but, for one reason or another, is not sellable. This includes products at their "sell by" dates at grocery stores and farm produce deemed imperfect simply because it’s misshapen, even though still jam-packed with nutrients. Other times, the food is unblemished, but farmers may have grown too much and can’t get it to market. Food like this is donated in masse by various food vendors daily. In the case of restaurants, sometimes they may have good pieces of food, such as a cut of fish or meat, that doesn’t fit some recipe or is deemed a waste byproduct even though could go into making a soup. Here is where your food rescue organization comes into play— saving food deemed waste by common standards from the landfill—food that took precious outputs of energy, water, and human labor to create. (It is estimated that 21% of the nation’s annual water usage and 10% of our annual energy outputs go into growing food that never gets eaten.)
Most food rescue organizations rely on volunteers to sign up for scheduled routes to collect good, edible food and then deliver it to non-profit organizations or neighborhoods that feed hungry residents. If you cannot volunteer, these organizations always appreciate a modest donation to further their work. Some food recovery agencies are for-profit engines leveraging technology that delivers real-time financial and environmental reporting to their clients allowing them to examine their purchasing decisions and reduce their food waste faster. Either way a business decides to donate, they are eligible to take advantage of federal tax deductions.
For-Profit:
Non-Profit:
Change to Humanity – Volunteer | Donate
Umi Feeds – Volunteer | Donate